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LETTERS FROM 



Europe mxi tjje (Bui 



LETTERS 



(fefljtf anb ijje (fcast, 



DURING THE YEARS 1859 AXD 1860, 



WM. E. KENDALL, ESQ, 



/ 



; If nothing more than purpose is thy power, 
Thy purpose formed is equal to the deed." 

Dr. Young. 



NEW YORK : 
G. A. WHITEHORNE, BOOK AXD JOB PRINTER, 42 ANN STREET. 



Entered according to Act oi Congress, in the year 1SG0, by 

\VM. E- KENDALL. Esq., 

fn the Clerk's Office oi the United Slates District Court, for the Southern 

District of New York. 



TO MY HIGHLY ESTEEMED FRIEND, 
THE 

HON. JAMES S. SULLIVAN, 

OF RICHMOND, TEXAS, 
THESE UNASSUMING LETTERS 

ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY 

AS A SLIGHT TOKEN OF MY HIGH APPRECIATION OF HIS 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE VIRTUES. 



PEEFACE 



The following unpretending letters were written from the 
countries and places they imperfectly describe, during my 
recent tour in Europe, Asia, and Africa ; for the benefit and 
amusement of some of my personal friends, without enter- 
taining the most distant idea of publishing them in the 
present form ; had such been my purpose I should have 
bestowed more care upon their preparation. But being a 
simple statement of facts made from personal observations, 
without drawing upon imagination or exaggerating in any 
particular, hope they may interest, and to some extent 
entertain, at least those for whom they were originally 
penned, at whose earnest solicitations I have been induced 
to give them publicity. I should here state that I have no 
pretensions whatever to authorship, nor do I expect to add 
anything to the knowledge and literature of the clay, conse- 
quently shall be alike independent of the criticisms of the 
press and the public. 



CONTENTS 



LETTER I . 

TEXAS TO NEW YORK STEAMER VANDERBILT — THE PASSENGERS 

ICEBERGS — LANDING IN ENGLAND — E1RST IMPRESSIONS — LONDON 

CRYSTAL PALACE — VOYAGE TO FRANCE VALLEY OF THE SEINE — 

PARIS THE FRENCH ARMY. 

L E T T E R II. 

THE FETE DAYS— SCENES IN PARIS— THE ILLUMINATION AND FIRE 

WORKS — DEPARTURE FROM PARIS — NORTH OF FRANCE BELGIUM — 

BATTLE FIELD OF WATERLOO HOLLAND — SOUTHERN PRUSSIA 

COLOGNE. 

LETTER III. 

THE RHINE AND SCENERY— HEIDLEBERG — BADEN BADEN 

SWITZERLAND — ITS MOUNTAINS, LAKES. AND SCENERY — GENEVA 

THE ALPS — SIMPLON PASS— FIRST VIEW OF ITALY MILAN MAGENTA 

A\D 30LFERINO — VERONA — VENICE ITS SCENES AND ASSOCIATIONS 

PADUA THE APPENNIN ES. 

L E T T El; IV. 

FLORENCE GALILEO. MICH.l.L ANGEI.O. AND RAPHAEL GALLERIES 

OF ART PITTI PALACE CASCINO PISA LEGHORN VOYAGE TO 

ROME — THE ETERNAL CITY ROMAN RUINS —MODERN ROME THE 

CHURCHES AND PALACES CATHOLIC FETE DAY THE POPE ANTO- 

NELLA. 



X C N T E N T S . 

LETT E R V . 

BAY AND CITY OF NAPLES HERCULANEUM POMPEII CURIOSITIES 

EXCAVATIONS FROM POMPEII— ASCENT OF MOUNT VESUVIUS THE GREAT 

CRATER — DEPARTURE FROM NAP] F.S — STROMBOLI SICILY— MT. ETNA 

IONION ISLANDS — HARBOR OF 1'IR. EUS — CLASSIC GROUND. 

' T E R V I . 

ATHENS HISTORIC ASSOi IATION MARS HILL THE ACROPOLIS 

ANCIENT 11 . i i:.\" ATHENS— THE INHABITANTS — PLAINS 
AND SITE OF ANCIENT TROY — THE TOMB OF Al 1111. IE. SEA OF MAR- 
MORA — APPR m — BYZANTIUM — 
TURKISH FETEDAY- DEPARTURE FROM CONSTANTINOPLE. 

L E T T E R VII. 

ORIENTAL SCENES — SMYRNA — THE BAZAARS PATMOS — RHODES 

CYPRUS — MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL— BEYROUT — MOUNT LEBANON — 

MOUNT CARMEL — JOPPA — REMLAH — PLAIN OF SHARON— MOUNTAINS 
OF JUDEA — FIRST \ IEYi ' EHE CRED 

ABOUT JERUSALEM. 



I. E T 1' E R VIII. 

DEPARTURE FROM JER1 SALEM MOUNT OLIVET BETHANY TOMB 

OF LAZARUS— HI! LS 01 i NTAIN OF 

ELISHA — THE VALLEY i DAN— THI SACRED RIVER — THE 

DEAD SEA AND ITS SURR01 N'DINGS SAN SAI'A — BETHLEHEM — CHURCH 

OF THE NATIVITY — RETURN TO JERUSALEM- -THE JEWS — DEPARTURE 
FROM JERUSALEM — PASSING SCENES IN ALEXANDRIA — THE VALLEY 
OF THE NILE. 

I' T E R IX. 

CROSSING THE DESERT THE RED SEA VIEW OF MOUNT SINAI 

RETURN TO CAIRO — SCENES IN GRAND CAIRO MEW FROM THE 

CITADEL — THE NILE — THE PYRAMIDS — THE SPHYNX RETURN TO 

CAIRO. 



C N T E N T S . XI 

LETTER X . 

MOSQUE OF MPHAMED ALI — MASSACRE OF THE MEMLUKES SCENES 

AND ASSOCIATIONS OF THE NILE ALEXANDRIA DEPARTURE FROM 

EGYPT— THE STORM THE ISLAND OF MALTA THE KNIGHTS OF 

MALTA SARDINIA AND CORSICA ARRIVAL AT MARSAILLES. 

LETTER XI. 

THE PARISIANS —PLEASURE GROUNDS BOIS DE BOULOGNE 

THEATRES AND OPERA HOUSES BOULEVARDS CAFES — < RANGES IN 

PARIS— THE CONDITION OF FRANCE — THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. 

L E T T E R XII. 

FROM PARIS — HAVRE LONDON THE ROYAL FAMILY 

—WINDSOR CASTLE — OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE — MANUFACTURING DIS- 

EDINBURG — SCENERY ABOUT THE CITY HOLLYROOD PALACE 

— CALTON HILL BIST >RIC REMINISCENCES. 



I, E TT E R XIII. 



HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND— GLASGOW -IRELAND \\I> THE 
[RISH — LIVERPOOL — VOYAGE — ARRIVAL AT BOSTON — COMPARISONS. 



L ETTEKS. 



APPENDIX 



Paris, 


PAGE 

13 


Cologne, 


22 

30 


Pome . 


40 


Athens, . 


49 


Constantinople 


.. 56 




.. G5 


Grand Cairo . 


75 




88 


Marsaillf.s, 


99 


Paris 






Ill 


Boston 


118 




123 



tfhtvapc and the (fast 



LETTER I. 

Paris. August, L859. 

Dear B. : 

You asked that you might share in part with 
me the pleasure of my wanderings by receiving 
an occasional sketch of those things and scenes 
in which I might be most interested, and here is 
the first instalment, in compliance with your 
request. If by this, and whatever may succeed, 
by the way, 1 add ought to your pleasure. I 
shall be amply rewarded Tor my trouble. 

My letters will necessarily be written hur- 
riedly, and when Iain, as at present, surrounded 
by circumstances and scenes entirely new and 
strange to me ; you need not therefore expect to 



14 LETTERS FROM 

find them over elegant in style, nor in any 
way perfect. 

It is very possible, indeed, that some of them 
may be of that interesting class of specimens that 
yon can "make neither head nor tail of" — in 
thai case I advise you, in advance, to begin in 
the middle and read both ways, — it will make 
no difference. Never mind the "connection" 
yon know — for connection, sequence, etc., are. 
things that I utterly abhor and renounce. I'd 
as lieve not write at all as have to write that 
way. 

Yon are familiar with most of the greal trav- 
eled thoroughfares of our own country, and a 
sketch of my journey from Texas to New York 
would not interest yen. It did not even interest 
me. I accomplished it in six weeks, stopping 
with my friends in the various States along the 
route particularly in Virginia and at ^Ya^hing- 
ton City, arriving in New York in time for the 
steamship Yanderbilt, which sailed on the 16th 
ultimo for Southampton and Havre. The Van- 
derbilt is a staunch and noble steamer of the 
largest class of ocean steamships, and her officers 



EUROPE A X D THE E A S T. 1 5 

experienced seamen, kind and accommodating ; 
her passenger list was long and large, who, in a 
short time after her departure, being cut loose, as 
it were, from the rest of the world, and out upon 
the wide waste of waters, were drawn together by 
a natural and common sympathy, dispensing with 
those restraints and formalities common under 
ordinary circumstances; became more as one 
great family, each apparently willing and anxious 
to contribute to the other's amusement and enter- 
tainment, in whiling away the tedious hours. 

The chief objects of interest and curiosity 
during the voyage were the icebergs, among 
which we found ourselves (he fifth day out. 

They looked wonderfully majestic, standing 
in their lonely grandeur upon the water, from 
one hundred to three or four hundred feet high, 
reflecting the bright sunbeams like so many 
mountains of glass. Very beautiful to see — but 
they're not good company — cold, you know, and 
dangerous. 

On the 27th we landed at Southampton at 
ten o'clock, in ten and a half days from Mew 
York. 



1 li LETTERS FROM 

It was a pleasant thing to stand for the first 
time upon the soil of our Father Land, the home 
of our ancestors, the fountain head of our lan- 
guage and literature, the land of so much and so 
mixed renown, and so tamed for us in song and 
story. 

Southampton is the oldest commercial city of 
England, and is noted for its tine harbor. 

1 look the evening train for London, and had 
a charming ride through a beautiful and highly 
cultivated country, abounding, apparently, in all 
that can contribute to the prosperity and well- 
being of the people. Many beautiful rural homes 
were scattered along the way, which I hope are 
as good as they looked. If the people are as 
happy as their homes are handsome, they are to 
be envied. 

I arrived at the great metropolis at six o'clock, 
and stopped at Morley's Hotel, Trafalgar square, 
reputed first rate, but my experience is that 
Morley " can't keep a hotel." 

The British Capital far surpasses what I had 
anticipated. Its public parks, squares and gar- 
dens are unrivaled in their freshness, beauty and 
extent, and are ihc greatest charm of Lonlon. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. IT 

One among the first places I visited was the 
venerable Old Westminster Abbey, so famed for 
its tombs of England's illustrious dead. Archi- 
tecturally, the Old Abbey is magnificent, — 
constructed in the form of a Latin cross, it is 
supposed to have been built by Sibert, King of 
the Saxons, in 616. It has been enlarged by the 
later Kings and Queens, who are nearly all 
buried here. Near also to their tombs, and 
within the sacred precincts of the Old Abbey. 
they were all crowned. Near by is Westminster 
Hall arid the Government Palace, or New Houses 
of Parliament, one of the finest structures in 
Europe, a building well worthy the greatness of 
the English Nation. 

I attended divine service at St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral, which, next to St. Peter's, at Rome, is the 
largest and finest in the world. 

Thames Tunnel is a stupendous piece of work. 
But the great wonder of England, perhaps of the 
world, is the Crystal Palace, otherwise the 
" Palace made o' windows " — 



18 LETTERS FROM 

! would before 

That Thomas Moore, 
Likewise the late Lord Boyron, 

Thine aigles sthrong, 

Of Godlike song, 
Cast oiron thai east oiron ! 

Vast in extent, built, as you know, of glass 
and iron, it contains a fine museum, and speci- 
mens of the indi^ny of all nations. In it are 
growing, blooming, and bearing fruit, trees, shrubs 
and flowers from every clime and region of the 
earth, from the stately palm of India, to the 
scrubby pine of the Arctic region. To enume- 
rate and describe all its curiosities would require 
a volume. The grounds around it are hnely 
laid out. The fountains are indescribably 
beautiful. They play at certain hours every 
evening. 

1 was in both Houses of Parliament, and saw 
congregated all the great men of England, and 
heard several of them speak. I thought them 
inferior, both as speakers and in appearance, to 
the average of Congress. 

The queen and royal family were absent from 
England, at their summer palace, on the Isle of 



EURO PE AND TH E E A 3 T. 19 

Wight. I left London on the fourth inst., by 
way of New Haven and entered the French 
empire at Dieppe, where the passports were 
examined, to ascertain whether we were entitled 
to the honor of becoming temporary sojourners 
under the wing of the Imperial Eagle ; — being 
found worthy, the gates were opened, and we 
passed through into the city. 

Dieppe is a place of fashionable resort in the 
summer season, and is to the French people 
what Cape May is to us Americans, but not 
being in much need of the invigorating effects of 
a roll in the brine, I started for the capital, 
passing through a fine country, not dissimilar 
from that we had passed through in England. 
Changed cars at Rouen, one of the noted old 
cities of France, and passed through the plaster 
district, where they quarry it from the 
inexhaustible hills, and ship it as a leading- 
article of commerce to various parts of the world. 
In approaching Paris, up the valley of the Seine, 
a fine prospect is had of her domes, towers and 
triumphal arch, foreshadow ings of the splendor 
of the city. 



20 LETTERS FROM 

Where we stopped, the collossal structure, 
built of iron and roofed with glass, and beauti- 
fied with rare shrubbery and blooming flowers,, 
looked more like the palace of a prince than a 
railroad depot. Driving through a handsome 
part of the city, we stopped at the Hotel du 
Louvre on the Rue Rivoli, opposite the Palace 
of the Tuilleries ; the prince of European hotels. 
The last few days have been spent in regular 
sight-seeing, under the guidance of an experi- 
enced courier. We have been truly astonished 
at the unrivalled magnificence of the French 
capital, Paris, which is now all in a furore 
preparing for the great fete days of the 
fourteenth and fifteenth of this month ; thou- 
sands of men are at work, erecting monuments-, 
columns, triumphal arches, and in preparing 
fireworks and the et ceteris for illumination. 
On the fourteenth the Emperor enters Paris at 
the head of the Grand Army of Italy, now 
encamped a few miles from the city, composed 
of one hundred thousand men, with all their 
cavalry and equipages of war. I visited the 
camp yesterday, and what is most observable 



E U R o P E A X D T H E E A S T. 41 

there, is the precision and regularity of arrange- 
ment, and the good order that prevails 
throughout the vast encampment. 

Among the curiosities I have seen thus far is 
the Emperor, Empress and Prince Imperial, but 
more of Paris and the French, anon. There is 
nothing attracting much interest here in politics: 
a littie anxiety certainly as t<> the probable 
action of the conference now sitting at Zurich, 
in Switzerland, and the different powers inter- 
ested in the Italian Question. 



LETTERS F K M 



L E T TER IT. 

Cologne, August, 1859. 

Dear B. : 

I stayed at the French capital until after the 
fete days — referred to in my last. I left on the 
eighteenth and traveled through the north of 
France, through Belgium to Brussels, through a 
portion of Holland and the southern part of 
Russia, to this place. 

Paris, undoubtedly, in regard to gaiety, 
beauty, and regal splendor, stands without a 
rival in the world. During my sojourn there, 
through the aid of my courier and a popular 
guide book for the city. I visited and examined 
thoroughly, and very satisfactorily, all the 
places of greatest attraction and objects of most 
interest, in and about the city and its surround- 
ings. Her fine galleries of art, palaces, 
churches, museums, libraries, tombs, towers, 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 23 

cemeteries, public gardens, and places of amuse- 
ment. No place I visited interested me more 
than the Place de la Concorde, where have 
taken place so many bloody tragedies of the 
past. There the amiable and gifted Queen 
Marie Antionette, perished by the guillotine — 
Louis XVI., the Duke of Orleans, Madame 
Elizabeth, and twenty-eight hundred of the 
other nobles and dignitaries of France met there 
the same fate. While standing upon the spot I 
could but contrast, in thought, those times with 
the peaceful scene and matchless view of the 
present ; the sun was just sinking behind the hor- 
izon, reflecting beautifully upon the gilded domes 
and spires of Paris, while in all directions, on 
every side, the finest monuments, the boasted 
pride of the Parisians, rise in view ; to the east, 
the Palace of the Tuilleries, the ancient home of 
the French Kings, rising above the green groves 
of the garden, to the west the Champs ElyseeSj 
Crystal Palace and Arch of Triumph ; to the 
north, Napoleon's Temple of G-lory, now the 
Classic Madeleine, to the south the Legislative 
Palace and the lofty domes of the Palais Des 



24 LETTERS F R M 

Invalides. In the centre stands the great Obelisk 
of Luxor, of red granite, brought from Egypt 
during the reign of Louis Phillippe. Its history 
says it stood before the temple at Thebes, where 
it was placed by Sesostris the Great, fifteen hun- 
dred years before the Christian era, It was 
brought to France and elected at an incredible 
expense, beinga solid piece seventy-two feet high 
and thirty-two around the base. Near by are 
great fountains, dedicated to the sea and river 
navigation, surrounded by tritons and nereides 
holding large dolphins, from which water gushes 
up to a great height, Calling around in feathery 
spray, tinted with the rainbow's hues. At pro- 
portionate distances around the square are figures 
in marble, representing the chief cities in France, 
together with numbers of columns and groups of 
statuary, all uniting to form a scene of the great- 
est beauty. 

The Palace at Versailles, built by Louis XIV., 
in extent and splendor surpasses all others. It 
is said the Palace, grounds and fountains cost 
two hundred and eighty millions of dollars. It 
has not been occupied as a royal residence since 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 25 

the days of Louis XY. It is used now as a vast 
picture gallery, including pictures of every va- 
riety and description, chiefly by French artists, 
and representing all the great battles, and im- 
portant events in the history of France. These 
are exhibited in a hundred and twenty-seven 
large gilt saloons. 

In the saloon appropriated to portraits, con- 
spicuous and large as life, was the illustrious first 
American. Thus has the pride of Columbia, 
Washington, the beloved, the adored of all, a 
prominent place in the palace of Kings. Imme- 
diately under his portrait, in a row together, arc 
the portraits of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun, and 
many generals and eminent statesmen of our 
country. 

The triumphal entry of the grand army into 
Paris, on the fourteenth, headed by the Emperor, 
was one of those grand displays of military glory 
unrivalled even in the annals of France, at least 
since the victorious days of the first Emperor, 
returning from Marengo, Austerlitz, and Wag- 
ram. The army proceeded from the Place de 
la Paix, to the Place Vendome, where the Em- 



26 LETTERS FROM 

press, upon a temporary throne, surrounded by 
her court, and an immense concourse of people, 
awaited the arrival of the Emperor and the army. 
Here the Emperor halted, and the grand army 
filed off in review before him, taking five hours 
to pass, — the troops being twenty abreast. The 
fete day of the army closed by an imperial ban- 
quet given by the Emperor to the officers of the 
army. The city was illuminated at night. 

The fifteenth, the national fete day of the Em- 
peror and the Empress, was superior to the day 
before, or any thing of the kind ever witnessed 
in the Empire. Napoleon's arrangements for 
celebrating the day were of the most extensive 
and extravagant kind, suited in all respects to 
pamper and gratify the taste and wishes of the 
great masses of the people, of whom Napoleon, 
Eugenia, and the Prince Imperial appear to be 
the only objects of adoration ; but as the change- 
able disposition of the French people cause them 
to adore their rulers one day and behead them 
the next, it is uncertain how long the fortunate 
family may hold their exalted position. Of the 
splendor of the illuminations and the fireworks, 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 27 

no language would convey an idea. The gardens 
of the Tuilleries looked like a scene in fairy land. 
The national colors of the empire, in red, white 
and blue fire, were interwoven in a style that 
charmed the beholder, and illustrated the supe- 
rior genius of the French nation in such matters. 
First of all was the Empress" flower vase at the 
close, when the whole element for miles around 
apparently was tilled with flowers of fire of every 
size and color. This was supposed to have been 
seen by nearly three millions of people. 

A few days were interestingly spent in and 
around Brussels, the capital -of Belgium, one of 
which was passed on the memorable battle field 
of Waterloo which, in many respects, remains 
much as it was on the day the giants were there. 
In walking over the field, and observing it care- 
fully, and having the positions of the armies 
pointed out, we readily perceived that the position 
of the allied army gave them great advantage 
over the French. 

The mound, or monument, erected in honor of 
the Prince of Orange, is conspicuous near the 
centre of the field, two hundred and seventy-six 



28 I, ETTERS FK M 

feet high. From the top is had a tine prospect, 
not only of the battle ground, but of the greater 
part of Belgium, which is very fertile and highly 
cultivated, and the most densely populated coun- 
try in Europe. 

Brussels is a line and well built city, celebra- 
ted for its manufactures of carpeting and lace. 
Its picture galleries contain some of the finest 
specimens of the Flemish school of art; some 
pieces of Rubens and Vandyke being prominent. 

Cologne is a large, old city, situated on the 
Rhine, the capital of Rhenish Prussia, noted as 
being the place where the well known water that 
bears its name was first invented and manufac- 
tured. It is curious that this sweet smelling 
stuff', which has scented the pocket handkerchiefs 
of every civilized land, should have come from 
such a bad smelling place. In this city Coleridge 
said that he counted seventy-seven 

"Well defined and several stinks ! 
Then, O ye nymphs of sewers and sinks, 
The river Rhine doth wash 'tis known 
Your filthy city of Cologne ! 
Then say, nymphs, what power divine 
Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine." 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 29 

Its cathedral that they have been at work at for 
tive hundred years, they say, when completed, 
will be the finest (lothic building in the world. 

The Prussians appear to be a cheerful, indus- 
trious and contented people. Prussia is one of 
the few Protestant kingdoms of Europe. 



LETTERS FROM 



LETTER III. 

Florence, September, 1859. 



Dear B. 



The voyage up the Rhine, from Cologne, 
whence I last wrote you, was replete with 
interest. On that river, the boldness an r I gran- 
deur of the mountain scenery, extending from 
Cologne to Mayence, about two hundred miles, is 
unsurpassed. The picturesque beauty of the 
Rhine scenery is greatly increased by the 
numerous castellated ruins perched upon the 
tops of the highest mountains, and in the most 
inaccessible places, once the abodes of the petty 
chieftains who lived by robbery and rapine, but 
who have finally passed away before the brighter 
light of civilization and refinement, leaving 
their crumbling habitations as fit types of dark 
nd by gone ages. Around and about these 
ruins the green smiling valleys, and vine clad 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 31 

bills, ladened with their ripe fruits, bespeak a 
reign of peace, prosperity and happiness. 

Heidleburg I found one of the most interest- 
ing cities in Germany, the noble ruins of the 
castle are very extensive and famous. This 
castle was formerly the residence of the Electors- 
Palatine, and occupies a hill near this city. The 
university is one of the oldest and most cele- 
brated on the continent. 

The numerous other interesting cities and 
places I visited in Germany I have not space to 
enumerate and describe 

Baden Baden had for me many attractions. 
The romantic beauty of its situation ; built upon 
the banks of the bright, flowing Oos, embosomed 
among the majestic spurs of the Black Forest, 
its bright green slopes and lawns form a pleasant 
contrast with the dark fir trees that cover the 
surrounding mountains. The conversation house 
is a fine structure, surrounded by public gardens 
and pleasure grounds, tastefully and elegantly 
laid out and ornamented. In the centre of these 
there is a beautiful pavilion where the best 
bands of Germany pla} r every evening from 



32 LETTERS FROM 

three until ten o'clock. Baden combines many 
advantages, and justly merits its wide-spread 
fame, as a fashionable resort, where more 
congregate on account of its many fascinations, 
than the healing virtue of its waters. My 
sojourn there happened at the height of the 
season, thousands being in attendance, from all 
parts of Europe and America. 

From Germany I entered Switzerland at 
Basle, at the north-west corner of the Republic, 
and visited all the most interesting parts of the 
country ; ascended to the tops of her highest 
mountains, viewed with delight her enchanting 
valleys, and traversed by steam all her principal 
lakes ; words fail to properly describe the 
sublime grandeur of the Swiss scenery, no 
language is adequate to convey an idea of her 
varied beauties. To know and appreciate 
Switzerland one must see it, Geneva, in the 
southeast, is now one of the most flourishing 
cities in Europe, noted for its extensive manufac- 
tories of fine jewelry. I crossed the Alps by 
the Simplon Pass, over the great road of 
Napoleon, which is considered one of the most 



K T ROPE A N D THE EAST. 33 

stupendous enterprises ever undertaken. It 
required the most skillful engineering to accom- 
plish it, and stands now a lasting monument of 
his indomitable will. The ascent is made by 
winding the mountains and bridging the chasms. 
The summit of the Alps was reached at one 
o'clock. Here were indeed the grandest forms 
of creation, and nature in its sternest aspect ; 
here, among the glaciers and eternal snows. 
Along the range of the Alps from Mount Blanc 
to the frontier of the Tyrol there are reckoned 
to be above four thousand glaciers, many of 
which are from eighteen to thirty miles long, 
from one to three miles wide, and from one 
hundred to six hundred feet thick. Altogether 
the glaciers of Switzerland are presumed to form 
a sea of ice more than one thousand miles in 
extent. From their inexhaustible resources flow 
the waters of many of the principal rivers of 
Europe. In the descent into the Itahy by the 
Grotto Gonclo are to be seen the highest rocks 
in the world, the highest of these being six or 
seven thousand feet and almost perpendicular. 
Bv this descent in a sudden turn in the road the 



34 LETTERS FROM 

Vale-de-Ossola bursts upon the gaze, and at 
your feet are the beautiful plains of Italy, wide- 
spread with their lakes, and winding rivers, 
cities, domes and towers glittering in the sun 
light ; one is enraptured with the first view of 
the classic land. The transition from the snowy 
regions of the Alps to the sunny elime of Italy, 
in a few hours, is marvelous. In entering 
Lombardy the beauty of the natural scenery — 
Lago Maggiore, and the Lake of Como, with 
their surroundings, combine to form a landscape 
of surpassing beauty, one that for centuries has 
been a theme of praise and a subject as well for 
the poet as the painter. 

Milan, the capital of Lombardy, and the chief 
city of northern Italy, abounds in much that is 
calculated to interest the tourist. Wealth is 
lavished in great profusion upon her picture 
galleries, museums, libraries, cathedrals and 
palaces, all of these abounding in the finest 
specimens of art, and relics of medieval 
antiquity. Prominent among the curiosities is 
the " Iran Crown," supposed to be more than a 
thousand years old, and to have been used in the 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 35 

coronation of Charlemagne. It is a most famous 
emblem of ancient royalty. It lay for several 
hundred years sacredly guarded as the most 
precious treasure of Lombardy, until it was 
brought forth by Napoleon, to be used in his 
coronation as King of Italy in 1805 : the cause 
of its being held in such veneration by the 
Lombards is that there is said to have been used 
in its construction one of the nails of the True 
Cross. They are now agitating the question as 
to whom it belongs, since the conclusion of the 
late war. Among the chief attractions of Milan 
is its cathedral, built of marble, and said to be 
the finest structure in Europe. 

I visited through northern Italy all the cities 
and places of greatest interest, including the bat- 
tle fields of Magenta and Solferino, which wore 
many marks of the late destruction of life and 
property. 

The city of Verona I found to possess many 
attractions ; its greatest curiosity being a Roman 
amphitheatre, in the most perfect state of preser- 
vation of any in Italy, being capable of seating 
eighty thousand persons, and not a seat amiss. 



36 LETTERS FROM 

The vast structure was built of Veronese marble, 
and remains now much as it was two thousand 
years ago. 

Here also were the homes of Romeo and Juliet, 
and the Veronese affirm that the houses in which 
they lived are still there, and were pointed out 
to me. Their tombs were also shown me. 

From Verona I went to Venice, the famed "city 
of the sea." All are familiar with her romantic 
history. The glory of the ancient republic has 
faded, and her high and palmy days have passed, 
yet she can be viewed even now only with amaze- 
ment and admiration. 

•' A thousand years their cloudy wings expand 
Around inc. and a dying glory smiles 
O'er the far limes, when many a subject laud 
Looked to the winged lion's marble piles, 
Where Venice sate, throned on her hundred isles." 

Poetry unites with history and romance to 
high ten the charm that surrounds Venice. Who 
can behold the Rialto or walk through the streets 
of Venice, of Shyloek and Othello of Portia and 
Desdemona and not thrill with pleasurable 
fancies ? 



EUROPE AXD THE EAST, 3T 

Here the Italian scenes and characters des- 
cribed by Shakespeare, rise in vivid reality, and 
add a charm to her deserted palaces and departed 
glories. Rogers describes Venice charmingly : 

" There is a glorious city in the sea — 

The sea is in the broad and narrow streets, 

Ebbing- and flowing ; and the salt sea-weed 

Clings to the marble of her palaces. 

No track of men, no foot-steps to and fro, 

Lead to her gates. The path lies o'er the sea, 

Invincible ; and from the land we went, 

As to a floating city — steering in, 

And gliding up her streets as in a dream, 

So smoothly, silently — by many a, dome, 

Mosque-like, and many a stately portico, 

The statutes ranged along an azure sky ; 

By many a pile in more than eastern pride, 

Of old the residence of merchant kings ; 

The fronts of some, 1 1n nigh time lias shattered them, 

Still glowing witli the richest lines of art, 

As though the wealth within them had run o'er." 

Venice might even be something yet, but for 
the heavy weight of the iron yoke of Austria. 
Her marble palaces, however, are now hotels, 
warehouses, and soldiers' barracks. 

St. Mare's Place is conspicuous among the 
beauties of Venice. Surrounding this square is 
the celebrated Cathedral ol St. Marc, the Palace 



38 LETTERS FROM 

of the Doges, the Venician Tower, and other 
stately marble structures, of the Grecian style of 
architecture, reared in the prosperous days of 
the Republic, and filled with many noble speci- 
mens of the Venecian arts. A number of her 
treasures have been removed to Vienna and 
other European capitals, yet the galleries of the 
Doge's Palace contain many pictures of great 
merit. The churches of Venice are rich and 
elegant, but comparatively deserted. Her 
wharves and harbor, once crowded with ships, 
bearing home the wealth of the world, are now 
occupied by Gondolas, and the commerce of the 
Adriatic has been concentrated at Triest and 
other ports more favored, and 

" Venice, lost and won, 
Her thirteen hundred years of freedom dene. 
Sinks, like a sea-weed, into whence she rose." 

I visited Padua, the seat of Italian literature, 
and Ferrara, and Bologna, old, degenerate capi- 
tals of Central ttaly, on my way to " Florence 
the Fair." 

To-day has been a gala day with the Floren- 
tines, in taking down the flags of the provisional 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 39 

government, and hoisting those of Sardinia and 
Parma, and declaring for Victor Emanuel, amid 
the booming of cannon and general rejoicing, in 
which I heartily joined, and hope and believe 
there is a better day dawning for Italy. 



40 LETTERS FROM 



LETTER III. 

Rome, October, 1859. 

Dear B. 

My expectation was to have written again 
before leaving Florence, but I failed, and yet to 
pass unnoticed a place so conspicuous in the 
history of the past, would be doing violence to 
our compact. Florence was one of the strong- 
holds of early republican freedom, and the birth- 
place of modern Astronomy. There the starry 
Gallileo, with his wooden tube, began to unfold 
the beauties of the wonder world beyond us, and 
to demonstrate the true theory of the solar sys- 
tem. There Dante and Tasso remodeled the 
Italian language, and sung its harmony in undy- 
ing verse. There Michael Angelo, her noblest 
son, chiseled out for himself a fame as eternal as 
the marble that shadows it forth. And her 
greatest genius, the immortal Raphael, has left 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 4:1 

upon the canvas the imprints of his undying 
fame. But Florence is famous for her beauties 
and attractions of the present. Its vast treasures 
of paintings and statuary, science and literature, 
which are equal to any in Europe, and free and 
open to all. The galleries of the Pitti Palace are 
surpassingly rich, and contain one of the finest 
collections of the great Masters ; many pictures 
by Raphael, Titian. Guido. Rubens, and Domin- 
ichino, and others of less celebrity, together with 
many fine specimens of statuary, among which is 
the celebrated Venus de Medici. In connection 
with the Pitti Palace, are the famous Bobili Gar- 
dens, said to be the most beautiful on the ( Jonti- 
nent. Florence has environs of exquisite loveli- 
ness, which are diversified with every object 
which can lend a charm to a landscape, refresh 
the eye, or delight the mind. 

Its joyous Cascino. where the gay Florentines 
repair every evening for rides, drives and social 
enjoyments, is situated, as the city is. upon the 
bright, sparkling Amo. so immortalized by 
Byron, all combine to make Florence what the 
poet has described it to be 



42 LETTERS FROM 

" Of all the fairest cities of the earth, 
None is so fair as Florence. 'Tis a gem 
Of purest ray. Search within, 
Without, all is enchantment. 'Tis the past 
Conl ending with the present, and in turn 
Each has the mastery." 

I stopped at Hie old city of Pisa to Fee its fine 
cathedral ; the noted cemetery, all the ground of 
which was brought from the Holy Land, and its 
leaning tower, one of the wonders of the world. 

Tin nee I went to Leghorn, the chief port of 
Tuscany, from whence I sailed for Borne, land- 
ing at Cevitta Yechia, and proceeding by railroad 
to the "Eternal City." 

No place on earth has so much interest for the 
thoughtful traveller. No one can enter the gates 
of Rome without feeling a thrill of enthusiastic 
pleasure, now that the bright visions of his early 
dreams, and the vague and undefined forms of 
history, upon which his imagination loved to 
dwell, are to become, in some degree, realities to 
him. To stand upon her ruined monuments, and 
look back through the long vista of the past, and 
trace the progress of Rome as it rose from a vil- 
lage of mud-built cottages to be the mistress of 



EUROPE AND THK EAST." 43 

the world, then, as the end of pride and ambition, 
mark her gradual decline through successive cen- 
turies, down to her present desolation, is to have 
for one instant so bitter an appreciation of the 
'' vanity of vanities'' as cannot otherwise be had 
through a life-time. 

"Oh Rome ! my country ! city of the soul ! 
The orphans of the heart must turn to thee, 
Lone mother of dead empir< e ; and control 
In their shut breasts their pitty, misery. 
What are our woes and sufferings ? Come and see 
The cypress, hear the owl, and plod your way 
O'er steps of broken thrones and temples ! ye, 
Whose agonies are evils of a day — 
A world is at our feet as fragile as our clay. 

The Niobe of nations ; there she stands, 

Childless and crownless, in her voiceless woe ; 

An empty urn within her withered hands. 

Who's holy dust was scattered long ago; 

The Scipio's tomb contains no ashes now — 

The very sepulchres lie tenantless 

Of their heroic dwellers. Dost thou flow, 

Old Tiber ! through a marble wilderness; 

Rise with thy yellow waves and mantle her distress." 

Among the many wonders of Rome, nothing so 
astonishes me as the collossal proportions of her 
ancient ruins, and the insignificance of the largest 
buildings of the present age, even St. Peters, 



44 LETTERS FROM 

when compared with the structures of the olden 
time. Buildings and palaces miles in extent are 
readily traceable by their broken walls and gigan- 
tic arches still standing, as enduring mementoes 
of. the superiority and power of that mighty race 
by which they were reared and inhabited. 

The Pantheon is the best preserved monu- 
ment of the ancient city. The eighteen hundred 
Christian years have only admired it as the per- 
fection of architectural beauty. The Coliseum is 
the grandest of the ruins, as well for its extent as 
for its desolate and silent majesty. The portion 
now standing is one hundred and fifty-seven feet 
high, and is the segment of an oval of immense 
magnitude ; but sad inroads have been made 
upon it for its great wealth of material — granite 
and marble. 

When ancient Rome thought it was rearing 
monuments, it was only depositing quarries. 

" A ruin ; yet whal a ruin ! from its mass, 
Walls, palaces, hall' cities, have been reared." 

Prominent among the ruins scattered over the 
■Seven Hills, is the palace of the Caesars, the gold- 
en house of Nero, the baths of Titus and Oarical- 



E QROPE AND THE 



45 



la, numerous temples, and the Senate House, 
where, in the clays of republican virtue, the Ro- 
man Senators sat to deliberate upon the welfare 
of their country. 

But by far the most interesting and attractive 
to me of all the wrecks of greatness, is the Fo- 
rum, which was not only the great heart of Rome 
but of the vast empire — the scene of many of the 
most thrilling events in the great drama of human 
life There was manifest the first dawnings of 
legislative wisdom: there was framed and enacted 
those laws that were the source of the Roman 
power, the beneficial and controlling influence of 
which was demonstrated by her great statesmen 
and early masters— these were the focus and nu- 
cleus of Roman strength, 

" Whence a mandate, c;i^lr-winged, 
Went to the ends of the earth." 

There Cicero stood, when with burning elo- 
quence he denounced the conspirators leagued 
with Cataline ; there Horace and Virgil tuned 
their harps to immortal lays, and Sallust and 
Ovid recorded the wondrous deeds of the gods. 
Every tottering wall around me. as I stood in its 



4b LETTERS FROM 

midst, seemed a history about which clustered a 
thousand interesting memories of her golden days, 
and each broken column an orator proclaiming in 
mute eloquence her former greatness. But truly 

" The Goth, the Christian, time, war. flood and tire, 
Have dealt upon the .Seven Hill City's pride." 

Modern Rome, the city of the Popes, has a 
population of two hundred thousand inhabitants. 
Its public statuary, fountains and monuments are 
very admirable. Equally so are its churches and 
princely palaces. Of the former there are three 
hundred and sixty-five, and one hundred of the 
latter. St. Peter's, the sovereign of churches, 1 
shall not attempt to describe. Its ornamental 
court yard and colonnades, and the eollossal stat- 
utes around the front, give it an imposing appear- 
ance. Its interior is gorgeously decorated. The 
altars are of the finest marble and precious stones. 
The whole structure was designed by Michael An- 
gelo, and is more his monument than anything 
else. 

The Vatican, the residence of the Pope, is 
equally indescribable. A writer says it contains 
12,000 rooms, three hundred marble staircases. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 4T 

twenty-four court yards, and twenty chapels. 
It took me six days to go through it and merely 
glance at its vast treasures of art. Its collection 
of paintings and statuary is reputed the finest in 
the world. The gem of the gallery, is the Trans- 
figuration, by Raphael, perhaps the greatest pic- 
ture ever painted, and the last production of the 
artist, The next in rank is the Communion of St. 
Jerome, by Dominichino. The principal piece 
of statuary, and an object of world-wide admira- 
tion, is the Apollo Belvidere. 

Yesterday being All Saint's Day, was a day of 
celebrity among the Catholics. The Pope and 
his court of Cardinals paraded the streets in pub- 
lic procession, and performed high mass at one of 
the churches on the Corso. The Pope rode in a 
glittering carriage, drawn by four black horses. 
On arriving at the church he was carried in on a 
large chair, upon the shoulders of men. Pius IX. 
is a weak and apparently effeminate old man, who 
looks as if his nature comported with his name. 
He is reputed to be devout and good, and anx- 
ious for the welfare of his subjects : but his wishes 
arc overruled by Antonelli, his chief counsellor, 



4S LETTERS FROM 

who is, in truth, the ruler of the Roman States. 
The bloodless revolution of Central Italy still 
progresses, and has progressed so far as to need 
nothing but the sanction of a European Congress 
to make it one of the independent kingdoms of 
Europe, which, from the signs of the times, it will 
be very soon. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 49 



LETTER IV. 

Athens, Nov., 1859. 
Dear B. 

1 remained at Naples but eight days, all of 
which were occupied in seeing the many places 
and objects of interest in the city and vicinity. 
The approach to Naples, from its far-famed bay, 
presents a scene of highly varied and most pic- 
turesque beauty. The city, like an ornamental 
crescent, extends twelve miles around the shores 
of the bay, rising gradually in terraced rows, 
with beautiful gardens, and stately palaces and 
villas, embosomed in rich groves of orange and 
evergreens, one above the other, to the height of 
twelve hundred feet, all crowned by the great 
castle of San Elmo and the tine church of St. 
Martino. A little to the right rises hot-headed 
and hotter-hearted Vesuvius, towering over all 
to the height of near six thousand feet. 



f>0 LETTERS FROM 

Around Naples is a combination of scenery not 
to be met with elsewhere, though there are por- 
tions of it to be seen in every country. There is 
a bay of surpassing beauty, interspersed with 
islands, cities, and villages, adorned with their 
churches, villas, and palaces. Plains, mountains, 
and volcanoes gathered in one splendid pano- 
ramic view. There is also the grandeur of the 
past, combined with the beauty of the present. 
Temples in ruin, and those that are perfect ; 
living cities and buried ones, and over all the 
peculiar beauties of an Italian sky, that appears 
to impart to Q\ery thing an additional charm. 

Prominent among the objects of interest in the 
vicinity of Naples are the buried cities of Pom- 
peii and Herculaneum. They are aboat eight 
miles apart ; Herculaneum at the base of the 
mountain nearest the city of Naples, appears to 
have been buried beneath the floods of molten 
lava to the depth of about ninety feet, and the 
present city of Portici is built over it, We 
descended a flight of an hundred steps, torch in 
hand, to the buried city, where we could wander 
along the excavations, and through the arched 



EUROPE AND THE E A ST. 51 

halls and passages of the palaces, theatres and 
larger buildings where the lava had not pene- 
trated ; — the fine marble columns crowned with 
Corinthian capitals still standing in their tem- 
ples, attested the elegance of the ancient city. 
The excavations progress but slowty, the rubbish 
being generally thrown back behind the laborers, 
rendering much less of the city accessible than 
has been excavated. 

Pompeii, at the south-west angle of the moun- 
tain, nearest the present city of Sorento, is much 
more interesting and instructive than Hercula- 
neum. Both, it is supposed, were buried by the 
same eruption about eighteen hundred years ago, 
but by different matter, Pompeii appears to have 
been destroyed and buried by the raining of 
cinders, ashes, and earthy substances, accumu- 
lating until it crushed in the roofs of the houses, 
and buried the city to the depth of from fifteen 
to twenty-five feet, all of which is easily 
removed, leaving the walls, gates, streets, alleys, 
houses, and temples exposed — walking through 
the streets is like walking through a city that had 
been recently deserted, and left desolate and 



52 LETTERS FRO M 

silent. Nowhere else can so perfect a knowl- 
edge be obtained of the style of building among 
the ancient Romans, the domestic arrangement 
of these houses, kitchens, and shops, the internal 
arrangements of their palaces, temples, theatres, 
and courts of justice, with all the appurtenances 
of social and civilized life. The various colors in 
paintings on the walls are as fresh and bright as 
if they had been but just put on. The mosaic 
floors laid in different colored marble, represent- 
ing various birds and animals, looked as if they 
had been recently scoured, and that we, in 
walking on them, were intruders, taking advan- 
tage of the temporary absence of the Pompeians. 
The temples and public edifices of the Pompeians 
were splendid, especially their Forum. 

" Whose lofty columns stand sublime, 
Flinging their shadows from on high, 
Like dials which the wizard time 
Had raised to count his ages by." 

They have laid bare about one fourth of the 
city, from which they have obtained vessels, 
tools, implements, and articles of every kind, 
quality and variety, used among the ancient 
Romans, many corresponding with ours of the 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 53 

present age — besides immense treasures of plate, 
jewelry, and coin that are to be seen at a 
museum specially prepared for their reception at 
Naples. 

In ascending Mount Vesuvius, we passed over 
hills of fresh lava, the result of the eruption of 
last spring, which had run over and destroyed 
many houses and much property, [and is still 
running. We approached to the verge where it 
was gushing out in liquid floods, like molten iron, 
and pressing slowly and majestically down the 
sides of the mountain. The apertures, whence 
the lava now issues, are in the side of the moun- 
tain over a mile from the top or crater. 

The ascent of what is denominated the cone of 
Vesuvius, one mile high, is very steep and diffi- 
cult, owing to the frequent giving way of the 
cinders and ashes under foot, and the consequent 
sliding back ; but the top once attained, we are 
amply rewarded for our fatigue. The view of 
the Bay of Naples, with its numerous islands, the 
city and its beautiful environs, is noble — but 
nobler still is a peep over the edge of the crater, 

down two or three hundred feet, into the great 

5* 



54 LETTERS FROM 

boiling chaldron of Vesuvius, of red and blue 
fire, where we see displayed in awful shadowing 
the mighty works of Jehovah. 

Around the crater, and 6ver the flat surface 
at the top of the cone, large quantities of strong, 
sulphurous smoke, accompanied with a blue blaze, 
issues from the cracks in the lava, which is suffo- 
cating when it arises, but the constant prevalence 
of the wind, at so great an elevation, generally 
dissipates and disperses it immediately. The 
descent of the cone is easily and quickly accom- 
plished. A few steps, with the accompanying 
long slides, take us to the base. 

In sailing down the Mediterranean, we passed 
near the foot of Stromboli, a volcano now in- 
active. 

Messina, the commercial emporium of Sicily, 
is large and well built, but like the other cities 
of Sicily, but a shadow of its former self. 

In pushing out of the straits of Messina, we 
had a fine view of Mt. Etna — whose eruptions 
the ancients accounted for by the belief that the 
Titan Eucylades was confined beneath it — and 
roared and vomited his wrath in his endeavors 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 55 

to throw off the man that had hirn down. But 
the giant is "gone out" in one way or the other. 

Eastwardly across the Mediterranean for three 
or four days there was nought to interest, save 
the sun and star-lit sky above and dark blue 
waves beneath, until we came to the entrance of 
the iEgean sea. 

The Ionion Islands presented a charming pros- 
pect — each island is noted for some celebrated 
deed of its fabled hero or god — so mixedly real 
and mythological that you cannot tell which they 
are — and these associations, together with the 
calm beauty of the scene itself, gave a fresher 
impulse to the fancy than anything I had yet 
seen. 

We soon entered the harbor of Piraeus, the 
ancient as well as modern port of Athens, and 
were upon classic soil on our way to the city so 
renowned for its many struggles — its heroes, 
poets, and orators. It is situated at the head of 
a beautiful valley, six miles from the bay. 

As this letter is already sufficiently long, you 
may look for my Athenian experience in the 
next. 



56 LETTERS FROM 



LETTER V . 

Constantinople, Nov., 1859. 



Dear B. 



Tn Athens there are but comparatively few 
monuments of its former greatness and renown 
left standing. The ancient city attained its 
meridian splendor under the administration of 
Pericles, five hundred and fifty years before the 
Christian era. That great ruler, aided by Phi- 
dias, whom the ancients were satisfied to call the 
"great stone cutter," left behind him those 
splendid monuments that have been the admira- 
tion of the world in all succeeding ages ; and 
notwithstanding the repeated efforts that have 
been made to destroy them, they still stand, the 
noblest and most interesting ruins in existence, 
imperishable proofs of the superiority of the 
ancient Athenians in taste and genius over all 
others, either of ancient or modern times 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 51 

Most conspicious among the ruins of the 
Acropolis is the Parthenon, the wreck of the 
grandest edilice ever reared, and hallowed b} T 
the noblest recollections that can stimulate the 
mind. As I wandered through its courtly halls 
and over its prostrate columns, and reverted to 
those brighter days of Grecian glory, when her 
heroes, patriots, and sages assembled there to 
teach wisdom, honor, and virtue to the ancient 
world. While thus meditating, the truth of 
those beautiful lines of Byron was forcibly im- 
pressed upon my mind — 

" Ancient of days ! august Athena ! where, 
Where are thy men of might ? thy grand in soul ? 
Gone — glimmering through the dream of things that were; 
First in the race that led to Glory's goal, 

.They won and passed away — is this the whole ? 
A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour ; 
The warrior's weapon and the sophist's stole 
Are sought in vain, and o'er each mouldering tower, 
Dim with the mist of years, gray Hits the shade of power. 

Son of the morning, rise ! approach you here ! 
Come, but molest not yon defenceless urn ; 
Look on this spot — a nation's sepulchre ! 
Abode of gods whose shrines no longer burn." 

True, the shrines of the imaginary gods of the 



58 LETTERS FROM 

Greeks no longer burn, but while standing upon 
Mars Hill, where St. Paul stood when he 
unfolded to the astonished Athenians the mys- 
teries of the unknown god whom they ignorantly 
worshipped, I saw a forcible illustration of the 
enduring truth of those Gospel mysteries he 
endeavored to teach to the heathen Greeks, in 
the tine Greek churches, and the neat English 
chapel that stood at the foot of the hill ; fit 
abodes, as St. Paul taught, of that God whose 
kingdom is not of this world ; while around the 
marble temples of the heathen deities were deso- 
late — tumbling to ruin. 

The remains of the temple of Minerva on the 
Acropolis is very ornamental, and a beautiful 
piece of architecture. The remains of the temple 
of Jupiter, the largest of the Grecian temples, is 
in the western part of the city ; but the best 
preserved of all the Grecian temples 'is that of 
Theseus, the " most virtuous of all the heroes," 
though some of his " virtuous " deeds read oddly 
enough now. There is not a column or stone of 
this temple amiss. It is built of white marble, 
like all the ancient temples of Athens, and looks 



EUROPK AND THE EAST. 59 

as much like standing forever as it did twenty- 
five hundred years ago. 

Since the Greeks have thrown off the yoke of 
the Sultan, they are gradually but slowly rising 
from the degraded condition incident to their 
long oppression. May we not hope that our own 
American missionaries who are so earnestly 
employed there, may rapidly see the fruits of 
their self-denying labors. 

The modern city, the capital of King Otho's 
dominions, is built upon the site of ancient 
Athens, and has a mixed poulation of thirty 
thousand inhabitants, who possess but few of the 
ennobling traits of their illustrious ancestors, being 
deceptive and treacherous — degenerate sons and 
unworthy descendants of Leonidas and Pericles, 
Plato and Demosthenes. 

The next place that claimed m} T attention was 
the site and plains of ancient Troy, at the mouth 
of the Hellespont in Asia Minor, the scenes of 
the struggles of Achilles and Hector, the woes of 
Piram and the bullyings of large-limbed Ajax, 
all about the beautiful Helen, so immortalized in 
the tale of Troy divine. If Helen had been a 



60 LETTERS FROM 

virtuous woman, and the Illiad never written, who 
would have been the father of poetry, I wonder? 
The lonely tomb of Achilles is all that is promi- 
nent upon the extensive plain. 



EUROPE AMD THE EAST. 61 



LETTER VI. 

Constantinople, Nov., 1859. 



Dear B. 



I did not "stand upon Achilles' tomb and hear 
Troy doubted," for fortunately for our own enjoy- 
ment there was no sceptic in the party. From 
thence we proceeded by the sea of Marmora to 
Constantinople, or as she is here denominated, 
the Queen of the East. The morning of our 
approach to the city was bright and beautiful ; 
and nothing could have presented a more magni- 
ficent scene, than the city rising, apparently, as 
we approached, from the bosom of the surround- 
ing waters in all its Oriental splendor ; its 
numerous gilded domes and minarets, glittering 
in the morning sun, made up a charming scene. 
Lying in the "Golden Horn,"' the city's famous 
harbor, and looking around, I thought as I had 



62 LETTERS FROM 

heard that there was no city in the world nature 
had done so much for. But all my magnified 
notions about the splendor of the city of Sultan 
immediately went to the thinnest of thin air, 
when 1 went ashore, and found narrow, crooked, 
filthy streets, thronged with all manner of human 
beings, dogs and donkeys, in horrible and impas- 
sible mixture. Here all those commodities that 
in other cities are hauled upon drays and wagons, 
are carried upon the backs of men and donkeys ; 
the dogs, the only scavengers, are a prominent 
institution of the city. The capital is strictly 
Oriental in character, and much more Asiatic 
than European. 

Here we find representatives of all nations, 
each wearing his own national costume, speaking 
his own language, and observing his own peculiar 
manners and customs ; this, of course, gives to 
the numerous crowds that throng the bazaars 
and thoroughfares, a most motley and curious 
appearance. 

Of Byzantium, the ancient city of Constantino, 
who removed his capital here from Rome, there 
is but little now remaining, except the burnt 



SUROPE AND THE EAST. 63 

column, a few obelisks, the mosque of St. Sophia, 
and the famous cistern of Constantine, the greatest 
antique curiosity. This latter is under ground ; 
the brick arches are supported by one thousand 
and one granite columns, about fifty feet high, a 
portion of their base being buried. It is now used 
the citizens for rope walks and other purposes. 
Constantinople is very irregularly built ; the 
buildings are generally two stories high, mostly 
built of wood and covered with burnt clay ; the 
mosques are numerous, large and fine ; the 
bazaars are extensive, and contain large quanti- 
ties of rich merchandize, and many gaudy fabrics 
and trinkets from the East. Yesterday was a 
Turkish fete day. The Sultan and his entire 
court were out in public procession, and a large 
portion of the Turkish army paraded, making 
a gaudy and imposing appearance. The Sultan 
rode on horseback, his horse much more finely 
attired than himself. The trappings of the Sul- 
tan's horse are among the finest and most costly 
things of the empire, sparkling with diamonds, 
rubies and sapphires. The Sultan was plainly 
clad, partly in Turkish and [tartly in European 



64 LETTERS FROM 

style. His officers of state were large, fine-look- 
ing men, except the Chief Eunuch, who is the 
third personage of the empire, and a full-blooded 
ugly African. 

Sultan Abdul Medjid is a fine-looking man, 
about thirty-four years of age. He has a mild 
amiable face, dark eyes, prominent nose, and 
short, dark brown mustache and beard. He 
wields his sceptre with mildness, is very popular 
with his subjects, and is inclined to reforms in 
his government, but is held in check by his coun- 
sellors. 

A stranger can see but little in Constantinople, 
without a firman from the government, for which 
we had to pay six hundred piastres.* That 
admits you to all the mosques, palaces, tombs of 
the sultans, and government establishments, em- 
bracing most that is attractive in the Turkish 
capital. 

1 shall depart, convinced that one who wishes 
to leave Constantinople, with a favorable impres- 
sion, should only take an external view, and be 
careful never to enter the city. 

* A piastre is about five cents. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 65 

LETTER VII. 

Jerusalem, Dee.. 1859. 



Dear B. 



Since my last from Constantinople, ii has been 
my privilege to witness much of Oriental life, 
and of the manners and customs of the various 
semi-barbarous and mixed races and tribes 
which inhabit these Eastern climes, from the 
wild and savage Bedouin of the desert, through 
the various gradations up to the enlightened 
European, that we find here and there mixed 
among them. To an inhabitant of the New 
World all this is full of interesl and instruction, 
as by it we learn the nature and condition of 
things that exist here in these distant lands, 
which were the first inhabited and the first trod- 
den by the foot of man, and from whence the 
star of light and civilization arose, taking its 
course westward, shining brighter and brighter 



LETTERS FROM 



upon each successive nation and generation, until 
it now shines in brightest splendor from the 
zenith of its glory upon our own enlightened 
and happy country. Having witnessed what I 
have, of the various conditions of mankind, seen 
the oppressed and down trodden, the half naked 
and starving, the poor mendicants in their wretch- 
edness, the poor Arabs in their filth and igno- 
rance, and the savage in his degradation, I can 
more properly appreciate the blessing it is to be 
an American citizen, one of a nation blessed so 
far above the common allotment of oar kind. 

Prom Constantinople we (1 have, you know, 
two American travelling companions, very excel- 
lent gentlemen. Mr. Hall, of California, and Col. 
Crittenden of the American army) went to 
Smyrna, the chief city of Asia-Minor, a place of 
great wealth and extensive commerce, consisting 
chiefly of fruits, silks, and spices brought from 
the East : it has also an extensive interior trade 
with Persia, Tartary, and India. One of the 
finest Oriental sights that we have seen was at 
Synirna — a caravan of three hundred camels 
coining in laden with the products of those 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 67 

countries, which are displayed in rich and gaudy 
profusion in the great bazaars of the city. The 
bazaars are strictly Oriental things, and places 
possessing much interest to the stranger. They 
are generally stone buildings, arched over and 
lighted from the top, each appropriated to the 
vending of some particular product or article of 
merchandize. In passing through those where 
the Eastern spices are sold, there is a pleasant 
fragrance prevailing, and we inhaled a sweetly 
perfumed air, which caused us to linger and ask 
many questions as to their names, nature, and 
uses. The bazaars of the Eastern cities are 
generally occupied by Armenian, Greek, Persian, 
and Turkish merchants, who sit cross-legged 
upon a divan in front of their establishments 
smoking their chibouks and nargheles, with an 
indifferent, indolent air, awaiting the motion of 
their customers : while occasionally mixed among 
them we saw a Frank (that is a term applied t<» 
all Europeans in the East) or a Jew, with his 
keen eye and anxious look, awaiting to fleece the 
unsuspecting. 

Such are some of the features of infidel Smyrna, 



LETTERS FROM 



as it is termed by the Turks. There are living 
in the city sixty thousand Christians, (so called). 
It is the seat of one of the Seven Churches of 
Asia founded by St. Paul, and is said to be the 
only place in the world where the gospel has 
continued to be preached ever since it was first 
proclaimed there by the great Apostle of the 
Gentiles. 

The next places of greatest interest we visited 
apart from Syria, were the islands of Patmos, 
Rhodes, and Cyprus in the Ionian sea. Patmos 
is the island where St. John saw his wonderous 
vision, and wrote the Revelations which com- 
pleted the mighty roll of Prophecy, that had, 
for a thousand years, been unfolding, and closed 
and sealed up the communications of God to man. 

Rhodes is a noble old city, majestic in its 
delapidation. It was famous in the earlier times 
as being the birthplace and stronghold of a cele- 
brated order of knighthood and chivalry, which 
effected so much for the promotion and elevation 
of the better half of ere it ion that now occupies 
so exalted a place in the society of all enlight- 
ened countries, more especially in ours. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 69 



The chivalrous relics of the city are magnifi- 
cent ; its walls; towers, gateways and stately old 
buildings correspond well with our notions of 
their proud founders. Here stood, in the days 
of her commercial prosperity, a colossal statue, 
bestriding the entrance to the harbor, of such 
immense proportions that ships passed and repas- 
sed beneath it. The Isle of Cyprus, so celebra- 
ted, in the earlier clays of Grecian glory, for her 
arts, arms, and pretty women, and, in later times, 
as one of the fields of the Apostles labors, is now 
like most other places under the Turkish yoke, 
fast waning to insignificance. 

A day out at sea from Cyprus, we had our 
first view of the shores of Palestine, and the 
mountains of Israel ; shortly alter which we were 
landed at Beyrout, (the ancient Byrtus) at the 
foot of Mount Lebanon, the principal city of Sy- 
ria a place of considerable commerce, and exten- 
sive trade with the interior, Damascus, Bag- 
dad, and Aleppo. The city is finely situated, 
upon a projection extending into the Mediterra- 
nean from the foot of Mount Lebanon. Its fine 
groves, of orange, lemon, and palm, gave it a 



70 LETTERS FROM 

tropical and beautiful appearance. Thence we 
went to Haifer, (the ancient Caiaphas) and Mount 
Carniel, in the ancient dominions of Hiram, king 
of Tyre, where the chief attraction is the altar, 
reputed to have been erected by the prophet 
Elijah, for the triple purpose of sacrificing and 
confounding the worshippers of Baal, and demon- 
strating the existence and power of the true 
(Jod. 

Continuing in the same direction, we arrived 
at Jaffa, (the ancient Joppa) which stands upon 
a promintory, conspicious f rom the sea. as well as 
from the great plain of Sharon. It is the seaport 
of Jerusalem, as in ancient times, and is a place 
of considerable trade, but the ancient harbor, 
where the ships of Tarshish and the tleets of 
Tyre were accustomed to moor in safety, is now 
tilled with sand and inaccessible ; ships now 
anchor out in the open sea and communicate with 
the shore by small boats. The plain around 
Joppa is level, filled with tine gardens and 
groves of orange, pomegranate, and palm, hedged 
in with giant cactus from eighteen to twenty-five 
feet high. Through the midst of the gardens we 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 71 

passed on our road to Jerusalem. After leaving 
the gardens we came out upon the great plain of 
Sharon, which stretches on to the blue mountains 
of Judea. 

We passed the night at Remlah, (the scriptural 
Arimathea), at the latin convent, and were re- 
ceived and treated with the greatest kindness by 
the good old monks. Making an early start in 
the morning, we breakfasted at the wells of 
Jacob at the edge of the plain, upon what they 
had packed us up at the convent, and then wind- 
ing our way among the mountains, upon our 
little Arabians, passed many places of scriptural 
renown. .lust before sunset, being some distance 
in advance of our party, I crossed the top of a 
small hill, wound around an ancient inclosure, 
and Lo! the Holy City! forming the foreground 
of one of the grandest pictures I ever saw. the 
venerable old city with its dark groves of cypress, 
its walls, towers and domes glittered in the mel- 
low rays of the setting sun. which appeared to 
stream across and illuminate the summits of the 
hoary hills of Judea, and terminate in a flood of 
rosy light upon the far off and lofty mountains of 



72 LETTERS FROM 

Moab beyond the Dead Sea, the distance of 
which gave to the outline a beautiful purple tint, 
while extending along the base of the mountains 
lay the dark blue waters of the Sea of Death, 
four thousand feet beneath the spot from where 
J viewed them, making up a scene not sublime 
but indescribably beautiful. Our party having 
come up we enjoyed the scene until it laded 
away in the shadows of approaching night, when 
we rode slowly half a mile down to the Joppa 
gate and into Jerusalem, and stopped at the 
Mediterranean the principal hotel in (he city. 
One can scarcely realize, in walking about 
Jerusalem that he is indeed in the city of David 
and Solomon ; thai he is uponMount Zion, Mount 
Moriah. and Mount Calvary, that he is standing 
by the pools of Siloam, and walking along the 
brook of Kedron, looking, up from the valley of 
Gehosaphat at the city of Zion. and looking 
down upon it from Mount Olivet, standing upon 
the very spot where the Saviour of (he world 
stood when He gazed upon and wept over the 
devoted city. 

We are assured that it is the Jerusalem of the 



E U ROPE A N n THE E A S T. 73 

Bible. Those natural developments, the ever- 
lasting hills, are much as they were when first 
visited by Abraham with his offering ; as they 
were looked upon and admired by the Kings of 
Israel : as seen by the most sacred eyes that 
ever looked upon this fallen world ; and as they 
will ever remain. The present eily is built of 
stone, the houses having domes and Hat roofs, 
and I icing generally low. The city contains 
about twenty- five thousand inhabitants, made up 
of Christians, Jews, Turks, and Arabs. The 
Jews appear to be in the majority, and now 
occupy that portion of the city where the proud 
palaces of their ancient monarchs once stood ! 
Alas, how are the mighty fallen! how sad is the 
contrast between former glory and present mis- 
ery, — now nests of den-like houses, and filthy, 
crooked streets crowd the site of Solomon's 
gilded halls and Herod's marble courts, while 
squalid poverty and wretchedness crawl along, 
where formerly golden chariots rolled and regal 
splendor reigned. 

The many sacred places of Jerusalem have 
been so often minutely described by writers that 

7 



74 LETTERS FROM 

I shall not attempt to describe them in this short 
sketch. The church of the Holy Sepulchre on 
Mount Calvary, is prominent among the objects 
of interest. The Via Dolorosa has been shown 
us, the way traditions point out as the one along 
which Christ bore his cross up to Calvary, which 
is the most illustrious of all the sacred places of 
the holy city, as being the place of the Savior's 
humiliation and triumph, and the means of 
redemption and salvation secured to our fallen 
race. 

We leave to-morrow upon a tour to Bethle- 
hem, the plains of Jericho, the Jordan and the 
Dead Sea, and regions around about. I shall 
have more to say of Palestine. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST, 75 

LETTEE VIII. 

Cairo, December, 1859. 

Dear B. 

The day subsequent to the date of my last 
letter, having made our arrangements with the 
sheiks, by paying them one hundred piastres, 
for a guard and the privilege of traveling in their 
territory, we left Jerusalem by St. Stephen's 
gate, passing the spot shown as the one where 
the first Martyr suffered. Thence we descended 
to the valley of Jehosaphat, passed the garden 
of G-ethsemane, and ascended to the top of Mount 
Olivet, crowned by the church of the Ascension, 
in which we were shown the place reputed to be 
that where the Savior bid a final adieu to his 
Disciples, and ascended to Heaven — leaving his. 
foot print, and the print of his staff, in the rock. 

From Mount Olivet the finest view is had of 
the Holy City, and its sacred surroundings. 



*6 



TTERS FROM 



Descending to the ancient road leading from 
Jerusalem to Jericho, in half an hour we came 
to Bethany, and were shown the tomb of Lazarus, 
also (he remains of the house of Mary and 
Martha, the friends of the Savior, with whom he 
sojourned during his sta} 7 in the vicinity of Jeru- 
salem. We descended by a rugged, rocky way 
to the fountain of the Apostles, and thence wound 
our way among the hills, or inure properly 
mountains, which became more rugged and deso- 
late as we advanced, until there was not a weed, 
nor shrub, nor tree, to relieve their frightful bar- 
renness, which forcibly reminded us of the literal 
fulfilment of the prophecy, that declared that 
the land should become the abomination of deso- 
lation. After six hours of monotonous winding, 
without seeing Hie least sign of animated exis- 
tence, except an occasional wild gazelle skipping 
over the parched and dreary hills, we came out 
upon the great plain of Jericho, at the foot of the 
•mountain of Temptation, which tradition points 
out as the one from the summit of which the 
Devil showed our Savior "all the Kingdoms of 
the world and the glory of them.' - &c. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 71 

We pitched our tents for the night upon the 
site of ancient Jericho, and used water from 
the stream issuing from the fountain of Elisha, 
the bitter waters of which he healed. The once 
fertile plain of Jericho is now a sterile waste, 
with immense heaps of rocks and foundations of 
traceable walls, and broken towers, and with the 
remains of a Roman aqueduct stretching across 
the plain, many of the arches of which still 
remain perfect. Leaving our encampment early, 
we set out across the valley of the Jordan, which 
is now a barren desert. In two hours we arrived 
upon the banks of the sacred river, — the baptis- 
mal fount of Christ, — at the reputed place where 
the Israelites crossed to the Land of Promise, and 
also where the Saviour was baptized by St. John. 
The Jordan runs rapidly between high banks, 
and is a much larger river, and discharges a 
greater volume of water into the sea than 1 had 
supposed. Its banks are beautifully fringed with 
willow, cotton wood, and tamarisk, the dark 
green foliage of which marked its tortuous course 
through the valley to the Dead Sea, and strik- 
ingly contrasted with the surrounding waste. 

7* 



18 



LETTERS FROM 



After refreshing ourselves upon its hanks, in 
the cool shade, taking breakfast, and bathing in 
its limpid waters, we turned down the valley, 
and in two hours, reached the desolate shores of 
the Sea of Death, the dark waters of which 
seemed to stretch far to the south, and, as far as 
the eye could reach, before and all around, blank 
hills, piled high over hills, pale, yellow and deso- 
late, entombed at their base, forever, the dead and 
doomed Gomorrah. As we wandered along the 
beach, not a rip] tie disturbed the silent shore ; 
there was not even ;i fly that hummed in the for- 
bidden air ; but a solemn silence reigned— no 
sign of vegetation upon the parched earth — not a 
sprig of grasp nor weed pierced through the void 
sand— not the least mark or sign that either 
animal or vegetable life had ever existed in all 
its forlorn coast — except a few trees that had 
been borne down by some of Jordan's ancient 
floods, and spread their grim skeletons along its 
desolate shores, all scorched and charred, even 
to blackness, by the intense heat of the long 
silent years. The Dead Sea being thirteen hun- 
dred feet below the level of the Mediterranean, 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 79 

makes it undoubtedly the lowest part of the 
earth surface ; hence the oppressive heat that 
prevails there, the year round. Leaving the 
shores of the Dead Sea, we turned to the south- 
west through the hill country of Judea, which 
had the same sterile and dreary aspect as that 
we had traversed the clay previous. 

In six hours we reached the Greek Monastery 
of San-Saba, the oldest one in Palestine, and which 
has more the appearance of an immense fortress 
than a religious institution. Its situation is a 
most picturesque one, built up from a deep chasm, 
in a great cliff, many of the apartments being 
chiseled out of the solid rock and being the prop- 
erty of the Russian Greeks, who possess great 
wealth, which they have profusely expended in 
ornamenting and decorating its magnificent chap- 
els. As we had letters, we w r ere courteously re- 
ceived, and treated hospitably by the kind Monks. 
'We stopped with them that night, and made an 
early start in the morning in the direction of the 
Pools of Solomon. On the way we passed sever- 
al Arab encampments, and in three hours reached 
the more fertile vicinity of Bethlehem, which 



so 



LETTERS FROM 



abounds in cultivated fields, vineyards and olive 
orchards. 

We passed through the reputed fields of Boaz, 
where Ruth gleaned after the reapers, which still, 
as of old, yield bountiful harvests to the husband- 
man. 

The town of Bethlehem occupies an elevated 
position, and contains about six thousand inhabi- 
tants, all of whom are professed Christians. The 
chief branch of industry is the manufacturing of 
rosaries, chaplets, crucifixes, and scallop shells, in 
mother-of-pearl, which they sell to the pilgrims, 
who prize them highly, and carry them to all 
parts of the world. Tlie place contains but little 
of interest excepl the Church of the Nativity, 
erected, in the early part of the fourth century, 
by the Empress Helena, through every part of 
which, we were conducted by the Latin and Greek 
Monks, who have surrounded it with a convent, 
and are now the guardians of the sacred spot. 
We were shown the reputed spot of the Savior's 
birth, the stone trough, or manger, in which he 
was laid ; the altar al which the Magi worshipped, 
the burial place of the Innocents, and many other 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 81 

places of sacred association. The church is large, 
and itschapel rich and gaudy. In it are shown 
twenty marble columns, used in the construction 
of Solomon's Temple. 

Bidding adieu to the hallowed scenes of Beth- 
lehem, a place rendered forever illustrious and 
sacred to all Christendom as being the place 
where the infant Savior first saw the light, we 
returned to Jerusalem ; passing on the way the 
wells of Jacob and the tomb of Rachel, and reach- 
ed the gate of Zion just as the great round moon 
was peering up from behind the distant peaks of 
Pisgah, clothing the towers of Jerusalem and her 
sacred hills in a mantle of soft silvery light. Al- 
ready a solemn stillness prevailed, disturbed only 
by the shrill cry of the night bird in a neighbor- 
ing cliff, and the bay of the wild dogs in the Val- 
ley of Hinnom. 

In revisiting the different places of interest in 
Jerusalem, we found none more impressive than 
that called the Plaee of Wailing, which is that por- 
tiou of the foundation wall of Solomon's Temple 
that still stands. There the descendants of Israel 
still meet to mourn their fallen destiny, and with 



82 LETTERS FROM 

profound reverence kiss the rocks, and stand 
with their foreheads against them, uttering the 
most piteous wails and cries of, "'How long, Oh, 
Lord! yet how long !" While standing looking 
and listening to their earnest mournful lamenta- 
tions, I was reminded of the force and truth of 
Byron's sketch of the desolation of the Jews : 

"Oh ! weep tor those that wept by Babel's stream, 
Whose shrines are desolate, — whose land a dream ; 
Weep for the harp of Judah's broken shell, 
Mourn, where their God hath dwelt, the godless dwell! 

And where shall Israel lave her bleeding feet? 
And when shall /ion's songs again seem sweet ? 

And Judah's melody once more rejoice 

The hearts that leaped before its heavenly voice ? 

Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast, 
How shall ye flee away and be at rest ? 
The wild dove hath her nest — the fox its cave — 
Mankind their country — Israel but the grave! 



On the Sabbath we attended divine service on 
Mount Zion, at the English Church, and heard a 
fine sermon in our own language, on the spot 
where the Gospel was first preached, that is to be 
preached in all the world, beginning at Jerusalem. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. " OO- 

After having concluded our visit, and having 
seen all that is most interesting in the Holy Land, 
we took our departure by the Joppa gate, as- 
cended to the top of the Hill, and turned to take 
a last, lingering look at the city so renowned in 
the history of the world — so conspicuously asso- 
ciated with the destiny of the Jewish nation — so 
immortalized in sacred song, as beautiful for sit- 
uation and eternal excellence, "the joy of many 
generations,'' but now so mournfully sad to con- 
template under the shadow of departed glories ! 
Her present condition is aptly described by 
Heber: — 
"Reft of thy sons, amid thy foes forlorn, 

Mourn, widowed QueeD ; forgotten Zion, mourn ! 

Is this the place, sad city, this the throne, 

Where the wild deserl rears its craggy stone? 

Where suns unblest, their angry lustre fling, 

The way-worn pilgrim seeks the scanty spring; 

Where now thy pomp, which kings with envy viewed? 

Where now thy might, which all these kings subdued? 

No martial myriads muster in thy gates, 

No suppliant nation in thy temple waits ; 

No prophet hards, thy glittering courts among, 

Wake the full lyre, and swell the tide of song. 

But lawless force and meager want are there, 

And the quick darting eye of watchful fear ; 

While cold oblivion, amid the ruins laid, 

Folds her dark wings beneath the ivy shades." 



84 LETTERS FROM 

Taking ship at Joppa, in two days we reached 
the African coast, and landed at Alexandria, the 
ancient Ptolemian capital of Egypt, and proceeded 
directly by railroad to this place, reserving the 
sights of Alexandria until our return. We were 
convinced, however, by passing observations, that 
Alexandria is the great commercial emporium of 
the East; the large number of ships in her har- 
bor, the activity displayed in her marts of trade 
and business, and the many fine substantial build- 
ings going up, were all indications of her resus- 
citation and rising prosperity. In passing through 
the suburbs of the city, we saw for the first time 
the perfection of the palm. The large groves of 
the date-palm, with their tall stately trunks, and 
fine golden clusters of ripe fruit, hanging among 
their long feathery foilage, added a charm to the 
scenery of Alexandria. Beyond and above them 
rose in majestic proportions Pompey's Pillar and 
Cleopatra's Needles, the chief and venerable relics 
of a fallen empire, — the enduring sentinels of a 
bygone age. 

The Egyptian railroad is a substantial and fine 
one. The bridges over the Nile are constructed 



EUROPE AND THE EAST, 8S 

of stone and iron, and are admirable specimens 
of architecture. The delta of the Nile, through 
which the railroad runs from Alexandria to ( 'niro, 
one hundred and twenty miles, for beauty and 
fertility surpasses any thine- I have seen ; and 
there being no freehold landed estate in Egypt, 
the land all belongs to the Pasha. He lets it out 
in small quantities to his oppressed subjects, who 
cultivate it all, like a garden, in order to obtain 
a scanty subsistence from the small quantity of 
their products, allowed them by their tyranieal 
landlord. 

We arrived here in the night, and surrounded 
by Egyptian darkness, were driven to Shcpard's 
Hotel, in a stiangely constructed vehicle, conduc- 
ted by a swarthy Egyptian, running before, bear- 
ing an iron basket of blazing tire upon the end of 
a pole. 1 was awakened my first morning in 
Cairo by a confusion of sounds, new and strange. 
I approached the window of my room, opening 
upon a public square, and the oriental scene, there 
[tresented, gave me my first true realization that 
I was in the land of mystery — Mysterious Egypt. 
The trees, shrubs and flowers were of a new type ; 



86 LETTERS FROM 

birds, of a strange plumage, were singing merily 
among their branches ; the laden camels thread- 
ing their dreamy way to and fro — while in front 
of the hotel there were a host of half naked don- 
key boys, with their gaily caparisoned donkeys, 
each recounting the excellencies of his beast in 
broken English, seeking custom — crowds of na- 
tives standing around in groups, clad in every 
variety of costume, vociferating and gesticulating 
in the most boisterous and vehement manner, as 
if they were all about to commence a general 
fight ; and, to add to the confusion, through their 
midst came a tall Arab, at full speed, in his 
long blue gown and white turban, cracking his 
whip right and left, not withholding its keen lash 
from the unfortunate natives, who chanced to be 
in his master's road, who followed in a gallop upon 
his Arabian, gaudily dressed in purple and gold 
lace, while his horse, still richer clad, glittered 
with velvet and gold: all reminded me of Saladin 
and the fabled mysteries of the East. 

Having seen Cairo, and all the curiosities 
and places of interest in its vicinity, of which 



EUROPE AMD THE EAST. 87 

I shall give' you a sketch upon our return, 
we leave to morrow, to cross the desert of the 
Red Sea. 



L E T T E R 1 X . 

Cairo, Egypt, January, 1860. 



Dear B. 



As stated in my letter, Ave left the city of the 
Caliphs to cross the desert to the Red Sea, — How, 
or in what way? You may inquire. By what 
means would you suppose, but those which have 
been in requisition for thousands of years past ? 
Seated upon the hump of one of those indefatiga- 
ble beasts of the desert, and like all good Mos- 
lems, with our fares towards Mecca, we commenced 
the march ! But not so ; the spirit of this pro- 
gressive age. and the light of science has pene- 
trated even to the heart of benighted Egypt, and 
caused the desert wastes to echo with sounds new 
and strange ; instead of the noiseless tread of the 
camel wending his slow and weary way, it is 
the clattering wheels and shrill snort of the 
modern charger, with his long car~a-van speed- 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 89 

ing his way across the arid plains at the rate of 
thirty miles an hour. Thus favored, in five hours 
we reached Suez, the port of the Red Sea — in- 
stead of six days, the time required by the com- 
mon mode of travel. The entire distance from 
the immediate vicinity of Cairo to the shores of 
the Red Sea, is a continuous desert, and appar- 
ently destitute of the very principle of vegetation, 
as no sign of any kind whatever appeared ; nor 
anything but a succession of extensive gravelly 
plains, skirted by hills and hillocks of glistening 
sand, which are the eternal prey of the sand 
storms and whirlwinds, changing them from one 
locality to another. 

Suez is a small Arab town, containing a fine 
English hotel, and since it has become a link in 
the great chain connecting Europe with India, 
has considerable caravan trade. 

We passed down the Red Sea to the reputed 
place where Moses led the Israelites across, and 
where Pharaoh and his host were destroyed. 
From its locality it accords so nearly with the 
scriptural account that one is induced to believe 
it is the identical place. 

8* 



90 LETTERS FROM 

From there is seen in the distance Mount Sinia, 
rearing its lofty brow, which the imaginative 
fancy encircles with a halo of Divine glory, as the 
legislative chamber of Jehovah, where, in the 
midst of that terrific scene, He communicated to 
Moses the Commandments and the Law. which 
were thenceforth to l>e his rule and guidance as 
the leader of G-od's chosen people. The vast 
desert wilderness, too, that stretched away far 
and wide in the direction of Sinia, seemed to pos- 
sess a venerable association as the scene of Isra- 
el's weary wanderings. 

Grand Cairo, the pm excellence of all Eastern 
cities, the city of the Arabian Nights, contains 
a population of between three and four hundred 
thousand persons, of all nations and dialects, 
grades and shades; from the lair Circassian to 
to the jetty Nubian and Abyssinian; from the 
diamond splendor of the Viceroy and his glitter- 
ing Court to the abject degradation of his poorest 
half-naked subjects. 

The morning after our arrival at Cairo, we set 
out upon the far-famed Cairo donkeys to see the 
sights of the city (the modus adopted by all tour- 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 91 

ists), and were surprised at their sprightliness 
and pleasant ambling pace, and the ease and ra- 
pidity with which they bore us along. We found 
these animals indispensable in visiting the great 
bazaars of the city, which were crowded with every 
description of humanity, laden camels, horses, 
donkeys, dogs and hand carts, mixed up in end- 
less variety and confusion. Through the midst 
of all, our donkey boys urged (heir little animals, 
apparently at our peril, crying out, "Clear 'the 
way, the Hadjii comes," (that is a term applied 
to foreign dignitaries.) In going through the 
dense crowds, our mischievous donkey drivers 
seemed to delight in urging their little animals 
against, and upsetting the fruit stands of the old 
sedate Turk-, and over the cakes and dates of the 
old Arabs, which they had spread upon the 
ground for sale, and through the midst, and scat- 
tering the groups of ghost-like women ; which af- 
forded much amusement for our company. For 
extent and variety, (he bazaars of Cairo excel all 
others in the Bast, and the dense masses that 
throng them are truly wonderful. 
The st reels of the city are generally narrow 



1 T E R S FROM 



and crooked, — but neat and clean. The build- 
ings are three and four stories high, each story 
projecting over the other, so that the upper 
stories, in many of the streets, come very near 
together, so much so, as to entirely exclude the 
sun's rays from the streets, winch are therefore 
cool and pleasant at all times. The wider streets 
are generally covered with matting thrown over 
a frame work. The common aspect of the inter- 
ior of Cairo is far more striking and original than 
that of Constantinople, or any other city of the 
East — being purely Arabian . The A rabian arch- 
itecture, though differing widely from other 
styles, in many respects, is admirable. The 
buildings are most picturesque in their construc- 
tion, with large, prominent windows of wooden 
lattice work, elegantly carved, and neat little 
arched balconies in front of each, carved and 
polished in the most exquisite manner, as well 
as the frequent little bridges over the streets, 
forming passages from one house to (he other : all 
contributed to give a peculiar and oriental aspect 
to the city. But one of the most striking 
features of the place is its inhabitants ; for it has 



EPROPE AXD THE EAST, 93 

preserved its original eastern manners and cus- 
toms, both in men and things, free from those 
inroads and innovations, that European civiliza- 
tion has made in most of the Turkish countries. 
None of the foreign mixtures that neutralize the 
nationality of Constantinople and Smyrna are 
here to be seen — none of the modern uniform 
and Greek fez adopted by the latter day Turks. 
Here the turban flourishes in its pristine 
volume and integrity — the long white gown of 
the Arab, and the sombre Copt surmounted by 
his tall black turban. But the greatest curiosi- 
ties among the population are the Egyptian 
ladies. To see them passing, shrouded from 
head to foot in capacious black silk robes, with a 
white veil reaching from the top of their nose to 
the feet, leaving nothing visible but their dark 
elongated eyes peering forth, gives them a 
hideous ghost-like aspect. When on foot their 
voluminous wrappings and waddling gait gives 
them much the appearance of a walking wool- 
sack ; but when mounted, or rather piled up 
astride on their donkeys, which their great man- 
tle envelopes all but its ears, they look like — 



94 LETTERS FROM 

nothing one has ever seen before under the sun 
— therefore there is nothing with which to com- 
pare them. Winding through the various high- 
ways and by-ways of the city, we arrived just 
before sunset at the citadel that overlooks and 
commands Cairo, from the battlements of which, 
certainly the finest view in the world is had. I 
have been favored with the privilege of fine 
views from many of the principal stand points in 
America, Europe and Asia, but then and there 
gave the palm to Africa. Embraced in one 
panoramic view, was, directly beneath you, the 
whole city of Cairo, with the gilded domes and 
graceful minarets of four hundred mosques, beau- 
tifully reflecting in the rays of the setting sun, its 
green squares and crowded bazaars, its walls, 
towers and gates, its accacia groves, promenades, 
and gardens ; in the suburbs, the mosque-tombs of 
the Caliphs, and monumental abodes of the 
giddy, gay Caireens after the fitful dream of life 
is over. A little beyond, winding its way 
through the richest valley of the earth, was the 
venerable Nile, whose broad, glassy surface, 
studded with sails, glittered in the evening sun 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 95 

like a sheet of molton silver. To the right were 
Boulack and the site of Heliopolis, behind the 
sterile range of the Makattam ; to the left the 
extensive plains where once stood Memphis, 
Acanthus, and Troias, with but a few broken 
relics of their ancient splendor, while further 
still, looming up in the distance, were the great 
gray Pyramids of Grhizeh, Sakkarah, and Dash- 
nor, skirting the boundless expanse of the great 
Lybian Desert : beyond which the bright orb of 
day sank, leaving a sunset, unequalled by any I 
had ever seen, surpassing even those I had beheld 
reflected upon the bright sky of Italy — and 
nothing that was ever written would so well des- 
cribe it as Byron's fine description of a similar 
scene : 

' All its hues, 
Prom the rich sunset to the rising star, 
Their magical variety diffuse ; 
And now they change ; a paler shadow strews 
Its mantal o'er the mountains ; parting day 
Dies like the Dolphin, when each pang imbues 
With a new color, as it gasps away 
The last still loveliest, till 'tis gone — and all is gray." 

The Pyramids next claimed our attention. 



96 LETTRS FRO M 

Leaving our hotel very early in the morning, on 
our before mentioned donkeys, we rode ill rough 
a succession of cool avenues, thickly shaded by 
the beautiful acacia trees, to Old Cairo, where 
we crossed the Nile. There, monkish tradition 
points out the grotto which served us a place of 
concealment for the Virgin Mary and her Divine 
Son during the first period of their sojourn in 
Egypt. It is now in the possession of the chris- 
tian Copts, who as much believe it to have been 
the abode of the Holy Family as they do that 
their country is the finest in the world. From 
the Nile to the Pyramids is eight or ten miles 
across the valley, which is interspersed with 
villages and groves of palm, passing over ihe 
ground on which Napoleon fought the celebrated 
battle of the Pyramids. On arriving at the base 
of the great Pyramids of Ghizeh, we are first 
made fully aware of their stupendous size — rising- 
stately and regularly to their enormous magnitude 
— they appear before you, the most noted, as well 
as the oldest monuments in the world. In viewing 
and contemplating the Pyramids, there seems to 
be something that screens them from an easy and 



Europe a v n r e rc e a a t. 97 

familiar contact of our modern minds, which is 
disposed to associate them with the Alps and the 
Appenines, more as the creations of God than 
the works of men ; yet, upon closer inspection, 
we see the square, chiseled blocks, their nice 
adjustment and regular proportions, and we con- 
clude they are quite of this world's creation. As 
to their construction, they were built at some 
remote and unknown age, like the coral rocks of 
the sea, by swarms of insects ; by swarms of 
poor Egyptians, who were the tools and slaves 
of power, and only received a scanty subsistence 
as the reward of their immortal labors. We 
ascended eight hundred feet to the summit of 
the Great Pyramid of Cheops, from whence the 
magnificent view from the citadel was reversed, 
and appeared to very great advantage. We also 
explored all its intricate interior ways, and cen- 
tral chambers, but these I have not space to 
describe. Near, and immediately in front of the 
pyramids, sits the lonely Sphynx, more wonder- 
ful than all else in the land of Egypt. It is col- 
lossal in its proportions, being twenty eight feet 
from the chin to the forehead, and in perfect 



93 LETTERS FROM 

symmetry. Though a deformity to the present 
age, being a type of the elder world, that was 
doubtless fashioned after its most approved form 
of beauty, which has remained changeless in the 
the midst of change. And the same sad, earnest, 
eyes that gazed upon us, had looked upon Abra- 
ham and Moses, and all the ancient worthies of 
Egypt — upon the glory of her forgotten dynasties 
— upon her Greek, Roman and Ottoman conquer- 
ors — upon the plagues, pestilences, and ceaseelss 
miseries of her race — upon the wandering tourist 
of all ages — upon Herodatus, as it were, of yes- 
terday, and Taylor of to day — upon all with 
ceasleess vigilance, the monster Sphynx has 
watched, and will continue to watch, we may 
presume, the same sleepless sentinel, through all 
time to come. 

As I have already extended this sketch to a 
wearisome length, I will have a word more to say 
of Egypt in my next. 



UROPE AND THE EAST. 99 



L E T T E R X . 

Marseilles, January, 1860. 



Dear B. 



Before leaving Cairo we revisited the citadel, 
having obtained permission to go through the cel- 
ebrated mosque of Mahomed Ali, said to be built 
of finer material than any other building ever 
reared — chiefly constructed and lined throughout 
with alabaster. In and about its construction are 
more than a hundred large columus of pure alabas- 
ter. Near this, and within the inclosure of the 
citadel, is the place where the Mamelukes were 
massacred by order of Mahomed Ali, in 1811, 
which put an end to the Mameluke power in 
Egypt. Out of four hundred, assembled by in- 
vitation of the Viceroy, but one escaped, and he 
(Amer Bey) by forcing his horse over a precipice 
and falling fifty feet to the valley bebw, sacrifi- 
cing his horse, but escaping unharmed himself. 



100 LETTERS FKOM 

Mahomed Ali, the wisest and ablest of the mod- 
ern rulers of Egypt, though he effected much to- 
wards improving and elevating bis oppressed 
country, has been severely censured for his treach- 
ery in entrapping his enemies under the garb of 
friendship, and then slaughtering them in the most 
inhuman and barbarous manner. Pie justified 
himself by the imperious law of necessity ; that 
the safety and welfare of his country demanded it. 

Being satisfied we had seen all that was most 
interesting in the capital of Egypt, we departed 
by the Egyptian railway down the valley of the 
Nile, through a country, the antique and venera- 
ble renown of which, together with its historic 
and scriptural associations, renders it most inter- 
esting ; apart from which it possesses many strange 
and remarkable characteristics. There, human 
effort and nature's immutable law appear to have 
vied with each other in bringing together the 
most striking and wonderful contrasts ; the beau- 
tiful green valley of the Nile, abounding in the 
most varied and luxuriant vegetation, is skirted 
along by the Sahara or great African desert, 
spreading far and w T ide its dreary scenes of deso- 



E (I B i) I' K \ K P r H E E A S T. 1 01 

lation. In fcUft immediate vicinity of monuments 
that have bid deliance to the ravages.of time, and 
stood the storms of thousands of years, the 
princely structures of yesterday are mouldering 
away and tumbling to ruin. Where plenty 
abounds, the fertility of the soil is unequalled, 
and no country in the world yields so bounti- 
fully the goodly fruits of the earth, the poor 
Egyptiansare half naked and starving — crushed 
beneath the iron yoke of a foreign oppressor. 

In approaching Alexandria by railway, we 
pass many fine European villas, surrounded by 
beautiful gardens of tropical fruits and (lowers, 
presenting a scene of elegance and luxury. The 
history of Alexandria stands very prominent in 
the annals of the past. From its foundation by 
Alexander the Great, it has been marked by 
many Strang*; and remarkable characteristics ; 
magnificence and misery, princely grandeur and 
squalid poverty and degradation, have, been the 
various phases of its existence : and now to stand 
amid the ruins of the ancient city, and look around 
over the venerable evidences of her former great- 
)r.^^ we see congregated together the miserable 

9* 



102 



LETTERS FROJ1 



dens, caves and huts of the Arabs, (he abodes 
of wretchedness and want, that strangely contrast 
with the ministerial and consular palaces, and 
government buildings of the new city, which ap- 
pears to be growing rapidly in commercial im- 
portance, and bids fair again to become a city 
worthy to bear the name of its immortal founder. 

Having concluded our Eastern tour, well satis- 
fied and pleased with our experience among the 
Orientals, we bid adieu to the antique "Land of 
Egypt/' the land of mystery and monumental re- 
nown — the cradle of the arts and sciences of the 
primitive world- — the emulation of that learning 
and refinement that has so blessed the Western 
nations, while she herself has sunk into semi-bar- 
barism, after having been the first among the na- 
tions of the earth. 

We embarked at Alexandria for Malta in one 
of the French Imj erials, with fair prospects of a 
pleasant voyage; Bui the third day out from 
Alexandria, and off' the coast of Africa, we en- 
countered cue of tl .( sc severe stoims, common on 
the Mediterranean, which continued with unaba- 
ted fury for about twenty hours, producing one 



EUROPE AND THE EAST 103 

of those scenes of the sublimity of nature not to 
be witnessed under any other circumstances. The 
long prevalence of the heavy winds blew up the 
water in immense rolling hills, ruffled by tower- 
ing waves that dashed their angry crests over the 
ship, sweeping everything from the deck that was 
not permanently lashed ; threatening every mo- 
ment to enguli us in the yawning chasm of the 
confused elements. But our noble ship dashed 
on, over and through the rolling mountains of 
water, bow to the wind, out-rode the storm, and 
landed us safely at Valetta, on the Island of Mal- 
ta, where we found much to interest us among 
the relics of the chivalrous Knights of St. John, 
of Jerusalem, who. for ages, were the masters of 
the island. 

Valetta is a strongly fortified city, possessing 
capacious harbors and great local and commer- 
cial advantages, which her English owners are 
not failing to improve. Malta abounds in tropi- 
cal fruits, which constitute her chief article of 
export. The prevailing language is Italian, but 
the governmental affairs of the Island are con- 
ducted in English, which is being generally intro- 



104 



TTERS FROM 



duced and spoken. The Church of St. John is 
a magnificent old church, built by the Knights, 
the floor of which is laid throughout with fine 
marble mosaic, representing the Grand Masters 
and various distinguished Knights, tbeir armors 
and costumes of the various periods. It is a work 
of superior skill and excellence, not equalled by 
the finest, even at Rome. 

The old palace of the Grand Masters, now the 
residence of the English Governor-General, con- 
tains a museum and collection of valuable relics 
and rare curiosities, collected by the Knights 
throughout the east, and sent to Malta their 
head quarters, which have been kept together by 
the various conquerors of the island, and now 
constitute the chief attraction of the city. Through 
the kindness of the Governor-General, we had 
them all shown and explained to us. The public 
gardens and pleasure grounds of the Knights are 
tastefully laid out and beautifully ornamented ; 
indeed, all that remains from their times, be- 
speaks the genius of the men and the nobleness 
of their order. Not far from the place is shown 
the spot of St. Paul's shipwreck, and believed by 



EUROPE AND THE EAST 105 

the Maltese to be the identical place where the 
tempest tossed mariners were cast ashore and 
built their tire, and the stings of the adder proved 
harmless to their great Apostolic captive by Di- 
vine intervention. 

Taking leave of Malta in the evening, morning 
found us nearing the coast of Sicily. Rounding 
the southern point of the Island, we passed 
through the Straits of Bonifacio, between Sardi- 
nia and the native isle of the immortal Corsican, 
the tall cliffs and bold promintories of which, 
presented some fine coast scenery. Bearing for 
the southern coast of France, in clue time we en- 
tered the fine harbor of Marseilles, the great 
commercial emporium of the Mediterranean ; glad 
again to set foot upon the shores of Europe, feel- 
ing much as if we were at home, treading the 
soil of our own native land. We are forcibly 
reminded, however, by the cheerful strains of 
martial music, and measured tread of the sol- 
diers beneath our window, that we are in mili- 
tary France. 

P. S. To do justice to our officers, abroad, 
I should here state, that we found them kind and 



106 LETTERS FROM 

accommodating ; both those to whom we had let- 
ters, and those whose acquaintance we otherwise 
formed. Especially so, we found our Consuls in 
the Bast — many of whose amiable and interest- 
ing families, we found like Oasis in the Desert, 
or bright spots by the way, to cheer, and remind 
us of the happy home scenes in America. 

From our Consuls there, we derived much 
valuable information concerning the countries, 
the condition of the inhabitants, the best mode 
to adopt in traveling, and whatever else per- 
tained to our satisfaction and well-being. In re- 
gard to our Ministers and Consuls in Europe, as 
before stated, we found them clever and kind, 
and have not ought to say against them in the 
discharge of their duties. But we do say that our 
government, through them, imposes too heavy a 
tax upon her citizens, traveling abroad, in the 
way of vises, which is justly complained of, by 
all, and certainly is a defect in our foreign rela- 
tionships, that should be remedied. 



UROPK AND THE EAST 101 



LETTER XT. 

Paris. April, I860. 



Dear B 



My long silence has doubtless led you to be- 
lieve that I have forgotten my obligation, and am 
neglecting my duty, amid the charms and fasci- 
nations of gay Paris, which, 1 must acknowledge, 
has been, to some extent, the case. For there 
is no place in the world so well calculated to al- 
lure one, from the path of duty, as the French 
capital, during the fashionable gay season, which 
is now closing. For a few months past, fetes, 
festivals, grand entertainments, balls, and par- 
ties, have been the rage with the Parisians, and 
strangers sojourning within her gates. The 
French people, in all that pertains to the social 
enjoyments of life, surpass all others. They ap- 
pear to be careless and indifferent about the 
common affairs of life, and attend, diligently, to 



108 LETTRS FROM 

those things that contribute most to their gay 
and giddy pleasures. 

Their theatres and opera houses are large and 
elegant, more numerous and better attended, than 
those of any other nation ; their public gardens 
and pleasure grounds are furnished with more in- 
genious contrivances, in the way of swings, merry 
grounds, pantomime theatres, and almost innum- 
erable other arrangements, not known, or to be 
seen, elsewhere: all for the amusement and enjoy- 
ment of the masses who throng them by thou- 
sands and tens of thousands day and night, and 
where all can be accommodated with good chairs 
by paying a sou or two < TheBoisde Boulogne, 
oi l woods ol Boulogne, near Paris, containing two 
or three thousand acres of land, is the lashiona- 
ble drive and promenade grounds of the city, 
where millions have been expended in beautify- 
ing and ornamenting them with tine shrubbery, 
statuary, pavilions, fountains, artificial cascades, 
lakes, canals. In short, everything that a vivid 
fancy could suggest, calculated to delight the eye 
and please the mind ;and the fitness andadapta- 
tationofall to harmonize, proves the superior 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 109 

genius and unequalled skill of the French in such 
arrangements. 

Not less do we see their good judgment dis- 
played in the general arrangement of their cap- 
ital ; especially the late plan adopted by the 
present Emperor, who has thousands of men at 
work, putting it into execution, widening and 
straightening the streets, and, in many instances, 
making new ones through the thickliest built 
portions of the city. And while hundreds of fine 
buildings are sacrificed, and being taken down, 
to make way for the new street, equally as many 
of a finer style, are being erected after them on 
the new street. 

The streets are generally wide and well paved, 
the sidewalks broad and smooth, being made of 
asphaltum composition, put down in a molten 
state. When cooled it is hard and smooth, and 
very durable. The Boulevards, the gayest, 
finest street of Paris, runs in the form of a semi- 
circle through the city, taking different names 
along its course, and occupies the site of the old 
wall, which was demolished, the ditch filled up 
and a fine street made that has become the aris- 

10 



110 LETTERS FROM 

tocratic centre of the capital, and is from two to 
three hundred feet wide, set with rows of trees 
along the broad sidewalks. 

Along the Boulevards, the public buildings, 
theatres, fine stores, and rich jewelry establish- 
ments abound, also the gaudy, brilliant cafes, 
which are a prominent institution with the French; 
who, as well as all others, crowd them constantly, 
to sit and converse, drink wine and coffee, smoke 
and read the newspapers, with an air of ease and 
indifference, as though the gratification of the 
present was all that concerned them. 

Paris is the best governed and regulated, 
most perfectly systematized and orderly, as well 
as the finest and most attractive city in the world. 
The French empire has never been in as prosper- 
ous a condition as it is at present, never has been 
ruled by as able a ruler, one who has understood 
so perfectly the French character, and who is 
doing much more than an} T ofhis predecessors to 
improve and develope the resources of France. 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. H* 



LETTER XII. 

Edinburg, May, 1860. 

Dear B. 

Taking my departure from the French capital, 
after a very interesting and pleasant sojourn of 
three months, during which time I had a fair 
opportunity of studying the French character 
and mingling in society, improved my privilege, 
learned "and saw much to admire among them; 
found them invariably polite and kind, and a 
generous, gay, mirth-loving people. I must not 
fail in this connection to bear testimony to the 
elegance and beauty of the Empress Eugenia. 
She looks quite youthful, and much the hand- 
somest personage I have seen in Europe ; the 
Prince Imperial is a noble looking boy, as to 
Louis Napoleon, this deponent saith not. . 

Havre is a large interesting city, and being 
the chief port of the extensive commerce with 



112 LETTERS FROM 

the United States, is rapidly increasing, and bids 
fair to si on become the second city in the empire. 
Sailing for England, landed at Southampton, 
visited the Great Eastern, which is expected to 
make its trial across the Atlantic next month. I 
proceeded to London, where I was most forcibly 
struck with the contrast existing between the two 
great capitals. In Paris, the chief topics and 
engrossing subjects of conversation were the star 
performers at the theatres, and operas, the past 
and approaching brilliant fetes, and balls ; the 
end and aim, pleasure and social enjoyment. 
While in London, the absorbing themes were the 
price of stock exchange, the rates of interest, and 
advantageous prospects of commerce, the purpose, 
gain, and object — business. 

I was present at the opening of the National 
Gallery of Arts, in London, on the 3d inst,, and 
had a fine opportunity of seeing the Royal per- 
sonages of England ; it being opened by the 
Royal Family. Victoria looks, and walks, a 
Queen : her very flushed countenance shaded her 
beauty. Prince Albert is a fine looking man, 
but begins perceptibly to wear the marks of age, 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 113 

.being quite bald. The Prince of Wales is a fair, 
effeminate looking youth. The Princess Alice, 
the finest looking of the royal stock, has been 
contracted for by the Prince of Orange, heir to 
the throne of Holland. While sojourning in 
London, I became quite interested in the discus- 
sion of Lord John Russell's celebrated reform 
bill, and attended the debates in Parliament, 
when it was being discussed, and think, from the 
signs of the times, it will not pass, notwithstand- 
ing the great efforts and influence of its talented 
author. I heard Bright make a very able effort, 
and think him the finest of the English orators. 
In my touring in the south of England, I 
visited Windsor Castle, the winter residence of 
Her Majesty and was shown through it, and 
found it to be a very extensive establishment, 
but of humble pretensions, in comparison with 
many of the European palaces. Oxford pos- 
sesses much to interest the tourist, being the 
great fountain of English literature. Oxford, 
and Cambridge, her rival, are the secret agents 
and foundations upon which rests the power and 
greatness of the British Nation, and from which 

10* 



114 LETTERS FROM 

emanate those streams of light and knowledge, 
which radiate out, and penetrate into every dark 
corner of the earth, for the English are par excel- 
lence the missionaries of the world. The forges 
of Birmingham, and spindles of Manchester, with 
their numerous cotemporaries, are doing much to 
contribute to the individual wealth, as well as to 
the national and commercial prosperity of the 
kingdom ; as from them go articles of indispensa- 
ble utility, into every establishment, from the 
cabin to the palace, of the whole civilized world. 
I was amazed in going through the immense 
establishments of those cities, to see what Eng- 
land was doing in the way of manufacturing. 

But I forget that I am here in Edinburg, a 
place second to but few in interesting memories. 
Edinburg, the capital and pride of Scotland, is a 
city possessing many attractions, and boasts of 
an origin prior to Rome or Athens, and co-equal 
with Jerusalem. However that may be, it occu- 
pies an honorable place in the history of modern 
times, as the home of a brave, enlightened and 
independent people, claiming Victoria as their 
queen, descending from their line of kings, and 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 115 

that England belongs to them, as much as they 
belong to England. There are many prominent 
objects around the city which at once attract the 
attention of the stranger. The dim, rocky for- 
tress, rising to a great elevation, crowned by the 
castle, the ancient strong-hold of the Scottish 
kings, the Acropolis of Edinburg. has its legends, 
connecting with it many eventful scenes of the 
kings and queens of the olden times. In one of 
its apartments, occupied for a time by Queen 
Mary, is shown many articles that belonged to 
her, together with her crown, which are held in 
great veneration by the Scots. The castle is 
still held and occupied as a fortress, but in this 
peace-loving age, the thunders of its artillery are 
only heard once a year, as demonstrations of joy, 
to hail their beloved sovereign when she makes 
her annual visit, 

Calton Hill, crowned with its many fine monu- 
ments to the noble sons of Scotland, commands a 
splendid view of the city, harbor, and surround- 
ing country. Sailsbery Crags, and Arthur's Seat, 
within the Queen's Park, are fine specimens of 
natural scenerv, near the base of which is the 



116 LETTERS FROM 

old Holly rood Palace, long the abode of the 
kings and queens of Scotland, and last occupied 
by King James VI., who was invited to occupy 
the throne of England as James I., which united 
the kingdoms of England and Scotland, and 
closed the long, bloody wars that had waged 
between the two kingdoms. The palace is now 
the temporary abiding place of Her Majesty 
when she visits Edinburg. The monument 
erected in the Princess Gardens, to the memory 
of Sir Walter Scott, is the finest monument in 
Europe erected to the memory of any individual. 
The green, flowery gardens occupying the site of 
the lake between the old and new cities, are 
beautiful, and form pleasant resorts for all 
classes of her citizens. 

Through the generous kindness of the Hon. 
Thomas Murry, LL.D., a leading citizen of Edin- 
burg, [ have been shown all the places and objects 
of greatest interest in and about the city — through 
its famous University, its courts of law, its char- 
itable institutions, for which it stands unrivalled, 
through its fine galleries of art, its national 'mu- 
seums, and many places inaccessible but to an 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. ] 1 7 

influential citizen. The wide, spacious streets of 
the new city, its tine groves and ornamental 
squares, all combine to make it accord with what 
a writer has said the tour of Europe was neces- 
sary to see elsewhere, was here congregated in 
one city. Here are alike the beauties of Prague 
and Salsburg ; here are the romantic sites of 
Oriviette and Tivoli, of Genoa and Naples • 
here, indeed, to the poet's fanc} T , may be realized 
the Roman Capital, and the Grecian Acropolis. 

" Even thus, methinks, a city reared should be ; 
Yea, an imperial city, that might hold, 
Five times a hundred noble towns in fee, 
And either with their might of Bable old, 
Or the rich Roman pomp of ompery, 
Might staii'' compare — highest in arts enrolled, 
Highest in arms, brave tenements of the free, 
Who never crouch to thrones, nor sin for gold. 
Thus should her towers be raised, with vicinage 
Of clear, bold hills, that curve her very streets, 
As if to vindicate amid choicest seats 
Of art, abiding nature's majesty 1 
And the broad sea beyond in calmer rage, 
Chainless alike and teaching liberty." 



118 LETTERS FROM 



LETTER XIII. 

Boston; June, 1860. 



Dear B. 



I am happy in again having the privilege of 
writing you, with the quill of the American Ea- 
gle, beneath the shadows of our own vine and 
fig tree. Subsequent to the writing of my last 
sketch form Edinburg, I traveled in many inte- 
resting parts of Scotland, none more so than the 
Highlands, the native heath of Macgregor, a 
region in which every hill, and glen, and valley 
is filled with romantic and legendary interest, of 
deeds of valor and heroism. Being the scene of 
many of Scott's best novels, we can fancy we 
are seeing them illustrated, as the national cos- 
tume of the Highlanders, which is very fantastic, 
has never been abandoned. 

Glasgow on the Clyde is the great manufac- 
turing city of Scotland, and for its number and 



AND THE EAST. 



119 



variety of manufacturing establishments, has no 
equal. Bidding adieu to the heroic land of Scott, 
Burns and Bruce, I sailed from Glasgow for Bel- 
fast, a large city in the north of the green Isle of 
Erin, a country not devoid of interest to the 
traveler ; boasting of its Giant's Causeway, its 
Lakes of Killarney, and its Blarney Castles, all 
possessing their varied attractions. The general 
features of Ireland resemble very nearly those of 
England— the farms are small, the country 
highly cultivated, rewarding labor by bountiful 
yields. The country is densely populated, but 
in a more nourishing condition than it has been 
for years past. Dublin is a very fine city, com- 
paring favorably in all respects with the first 
cities on the Continent, We get a very imper- 
fect idea of the Irish and Irish character from 
the specimens we have among us, yet among 
them are many honorable exceptions. The 
h%her classes are a noble, generous, fine-looking 
people. I took steamer from Dublin for Liver- 
pool, where I had time, before the sailing of the 
Arabia, to see the great commercial mart of 
England, which in many respects looks very 



120 LETTERS FROM 

much like New York, her great rival in com- 
merce. 

On the nineteenth ult, the tine steamship 
Arabia bore us off from the shores of the Old 
World, and on the twenty-eighth landed us on 
the shores of the New ; after a speedy and 
pleasant voyage, and just one year from the time 
of leaving home. 

Having seen something of the four quarters of 
the globe, and traveled in twenty-seven States o( 
our Union, and in all the British Provinces on 
this continent ; and traversed the couutry from 
the bleak cliffs and pine forests of Maine, to those 
charming flowery gardens of Nature, that skirt 
the banks of the Rio Grande ; and from the green 
slopes of the Atlantic, to the maiden forests, that 
stand in primitive majesty, over the hills of our 
western teritories. I am prepared to say, that to 
see all the varied beauties and sublimities of 
Nature, as well as the grandest achievements of 
science, we need not go beyond the shores of our 
native land : for Nature here has been most 
bountiful in her gifts, and sublime in her works. 

Her broad, deep, and almost endless rivers, 



EUROPE AND THE EAST. 121 

rolling silently and majestically to the ocean — 
her long ranges of lofty mountains — her rich and 
expansive valleys, teeming with the goodly fruits 
of the earth, and cattle upon a thousand hills — 
her boundless prairies, covered with waving ver- 
dure, and decked with thousands of nature's vari- 
egated beauties — her primeval forests, standing 
in their lonely solitude — her broad sparkling 
lakes, like seas of liquid silver — the ceaseless 
thunders of her mighty cataracts, commingling 
in awful harmony, a true copy of Nature's sub- 
limest works — are not only not surpassed, but 
are not equalled elsewhere. Her bright, sunny 
skies, with the magic hues of her golden sunsets, 
are not surpassed even by those of Italy. The 
romantic beauty of the river scenery, of the Hud- 
son, the St. Lawrence ; Ohio and the Upper 
Mississippi ; is not surpassed by that of the famed 
Rhine or Danube. And the fine picturesque scen- 
ery surrounding many of her lakes, will compare 
favorably with that surrounding the lakes of 
Switzerland or Italy. So to see all that is beau- 
tiful and sublime in nature, an American need 

11 



122 LETTERS FROM 

never go or look beyond the bounds of his native 
country, the 

ll/'Land of the forest and the rock, 
Of dark blue lake and mighty river, 
Of mountains reared on high to mock 
The storm's career and lightning shock, 
My own green land forever. 
Oh ! never may a son of thine, 
Where'ere his wandering feet incline, 
Forget the sky that bent above 
His childhood like a dream of love." 



APPENDIX. 123 



C M PILE I) 



ifetoric Sketch of 3fent$alem. 



Jerusalem, amidsl the appalling tribulations and 
destructive revolutions of tour thousand years, still con- 
tinues an inhabited city Firs* mentioned in sacred writ 
as Salem, the Capital of Melchizedec, in the time of 
Abraham, (B. C, 1912.) it was afterwards conjointly the 
seat of the Jebusites and Jews for five centuries. Its 
longest interval of tranquillity, was when it acquired the 
name of Jebu^salem, which, slightly altered, it still retains, 
The stronghold of the Jebusites was at length conquered 
by David, (B. C, 1047.) This warlike monarch removed 
his capital from Hebron to Mount Zion, where he closed 
his long and glorious career, bequeathing to his son an 
enlarged dominion, with the spoils of vanquished nations. 

Solomon, celebrated alike for his splendid temple, his 
profound knowledge, and unequalled magnificence, incited 
by the example of his Phoenician neighbors, adopted the 



124 APPENDIX. 

spirit of commercial enterprise, erected new cities, estab- 
lished Tadmor, (Palmyra,) as a caravan station in the 
desert, and despatched Meets upon distant and profitable 
voyages. The grievous burdens, however, imposed on 
his people, provoked them, in the reign .of his successor, to 
disaffection and revolt, which led to the permauent sepa- 
ration of his extensive dominions, into the rival kingdoms 
of Judah and Israel. Egyptian invasion speedily followed, 
when the city and temple, (B. C, 791,) were pillaged by 
Sheshank, (Shishak,) of whose success a remarkable 
record .-till remains on the sculptured walls of the temple 
ofKarnac, at Thebes. Wars perpetually disturbed these 
kindred States, until thai of Israel, at the end ol two centu- 
ries and a half, was subverted by Salmonassar, when the 
ten tribes, carried beyond the Euphrates, were obliterated 
from the page of history ; nor have the unceasing 
efforts of Mr. Wolf* been able to ascertain if they still 
exist. 

The hostile incursions of powerful adversaries com- 
pelled Aha/., king of Judah, (B. C. 740,) to seek the 
tributary protection of the encroaching Assyrians. A 
century afterwards, the Mate was beset by increasing and 
overwhelming calamities, and the Jewish capital was 

'- An English tourist, wbo spent many years in searching for them. 



APPENDIX 



125 



seized by Pharaoh Nechos, sovereign of Egypt, who 
changed the succession, and bore away the king a captive. 
Four years afterwards, subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon, Zedekiah was established in Jerusalem 
as a tributary vassal. An unsuccessful attempt to throw 
off this galling yoke produced another invasion, when the 
country was again desolated, and the people enslaved. A 
renewed alliance with Egypt indued the Jews once more 
to revolt, (B. C. 588,) when their inexorable enemies rav- 
aged the country, pillaged the city, destroyed the temple. 
reduced the inhabitants to slavery, and carried them cap- 
tives to Babylon. Thus the kingdom of Judah was com- 
pletely overthrown, three hundred and sixty-eight year* 
after its Inundation by David. Cyrus, having conquered 
Babylon, restored the Jews to their country, (B. C. 547J 
with full permission to exercise their religion, and rebuild 
their temple. Their city, by degrees, arose from its ruins. 
their sacred edifice was completed, fortifications once more 
encircled the town, and it had probably attained its 
original extent and grandeur, when Alexander appeared 
with hostile intentions, after the destruction of Tyre. 
Awed by the appearance of the High Priest, he entered 
the temple with reverence, and, conciliated by submission, 

accorded protection and granted privileges to the Jews. 
After the dissolution of his extensive empire, Judea, 



11* 



126 APPENDIX. 

bcized by the usurper of Egypt, was successively exposed 
to the rapacious inroads and tyrannical rule of the Pto- 
lemies and Selucidas. From the latter it was gallantly 
defended by the Asononian dynasty, (the Maaccabees,) in 
which, for more than a century, the sovereignty and 
priesthood were united; but becoming embroiled in civil 
commotion, foreign interference was invited, and Pcmpey 
(B. C. 59,) taking possession of the city, reduced it to a 
Roman dependence. 

Antipater, a Jewish proselyte, from the neighboring 
State of Idumea, was then appointed prefect. His son 
and successor, Herod, emulous of the splendor he had 
witnessed at Rome, where he was invested with (he 
insignia of royalty, embellished Jerusalem, rebuilt or 
restored the temple, and raised the stately city of Cacsa 
rea on the coast, which he made the maritime capital 
of Judea. Dining the period of tranquillity which sue 
ceeded the government of Herod the Great, no events 
recorded by the Evangelists distinguished Jerusalem. 

The indignation of the Jews, aroused by the oppression 
of their governors, afterwards led to a slate of turbulence 
and insubordination, that drew upon them the whole 
weight of Roman vengeance. Amidst the eventful siege 
of Titus, (A. D. 71,) the temple became a prey to the 
flames. It was plundered, demolished, and a ploughshare 



APPENDIX. 12T 

passed over the ruins. The sacred vessels* were then 
carried to Rome, where some of their forms are still to 
be seen among - the sculptures of the triumphal arch that 
commemorated the conquest, 

In the beginning of the second century, Adrian com 
mantled a new city, Rha, to be built on the site of Jeru 
salem, which afterwards becoming a Roman colony, (he 
revolted Jews were finally dispossessed of their country 
Its original name was again restored, by Constantine, 
wlmso mother, Helena, revived the ancient fame of the 
city by the numerous edifices with which she adorned it 

The project afterwards formed by the Emperor Julian, 
of reestablishing the Jews ard rebuilding the temple, la 
asserted, both by pagan and Christian writers, to have 
been frustrated by divine or supernatural interposition. 
Jerusalem, considered as an important appendage to the 
eastern empire, was, in the reign of Heraclius, (A. D. 614,) 
desecrated and despoiled by Khosroo, the Persian con- 
queror. Once more in the possession of Heraclius, Syria 
and Palestine were successfully invaded by the Arabs, and 

* These were taken by the Vandals when Rome was pillaged, (A. 
D. 455,) but were afterwards recovered at Carthage, and presented by 
Justinian to the Christian Churches at Jerusalem. Falling subse- 
quently in the hands of Khosroo, they were taken to Persia and irre- 
coverably lost. 



128 APPENDIX. 

Jerusalem besieged in 637. To the moderns, the holy 
city, both as the scene of long-continued prophetic inspira- 
tion, and of Mohammed's marvelous journey to heaven, 
was the object of high veneration. The ostensible mis- 
sion of the prophet of Mecca, was to abolish idolatry and 
re-establish the faith of Abraham and his inspired succes- 
sors. He acknowledged the prophetic character of the 
founder of Christianity, but declared the true faith had 
been grossly corrupted, both by Jews and Christians. 

After a siege of four months, maintained on both 
sides with great bravery, Jerusalem was reduced to the 
necessity of yielding, the enfeebled state of the Greek 
empire allowing no hope of relief. The inhabitants, after 
much negotiation, agreed to surrender, but insisted upon 
receiving from the Cailiph in person, an assurance of 
security and protection. Omar, the second in succession 
from the prophet, acceded to their wishes, and came 
especially to Medina to secure their submission. Al- 
though invested with supreme authority, he traveled in 
the ordinary garb, and with all the simplicity of an Arab 
of the desert. A scanty supply of provisions in two sacks, 
a skin of water, and a wooden bowl, which served indis- 
criminately the little party at their frugal meals, were 
carried by the camel on which he himself was mounted. The 
companions of his journey were few, and at whatever town 



APPENDIX. 129 

he halted, he pursued his customary habit of preaching aud 
administering justice. On his arrival, refusing a residence 
that had been prepared for him, he took possession of a tent 
without the walls, amid the joyful acclamations of his 
troops, whom he engaged next morning in the public exer- 
cise of devotion. With Sophronius, the Greek patriarch, 
all was amicably arranged, and the terms then conceded 
are remarkable for their moderation, and worthy of notice, 
as forming the basis of those usually granted in the early 
period of Mohammedan conquest. New religious edifices 
were forbidden to be constructed, but existing churches 
were permitted to remain, and commanded always to be 
open to any that might be disposed to enter. All Moslem 
travelers were to be entitled to hospitality for three days. 
No attempt was to be made to convert Mohammedans, the 
Koran was not to be used for the instruction of children, 
nor was any Christian to be hindered from embracing the 
new doctrines. Deference and respect were to be shown 
to Moslems, in whose presence their Christian subjects were 
not allowed to be seated. A distinction was to be observed 
in the dress, forms of salutations, and names of Christians. 
They were required to relinquish the use of saddles, arms, 
and inscriptions in Arabic on their rings, and were neither 
to sell wine or intoxicating liquors. Uniformity in dress 
was enjoined, aud girdles were ordered to be constantly 



130 APPENDIX. 

worn. The exhibition of crosses and books in the streets 
was prohibited, nor were the former allowed on churches. 
Bells were only to be tolled, Moslem domestics were not 
allowed , and Christians were commanded not to overlook 
the houses of their Moslem neighbors, or to be spies on their 
actions. 

Tribute and taxes were to be paid with punctuality, 
the sovereignty of Omar to be acknowledged, and no pro- 
jects, either directly or indirectly injurious to him, were to 
be entertained. Compliance with these terms was to insure 
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem their lives, property, and 
the free exercise of their religion, to guarantee them from 
insult and violence, and like the other subjects of the Cai- 
liph, they were to lie under his immediate and perpetual 
protection. 

These articles accepted, the gates were thrown open r 
and the Cailiph, attended by Sophronius, viewed the 
antiquities of the city. They visited together the church 
of the holy sepulchre, where, when the hour of prayer was 
proclaimed, Omar refused to perform his devotions, lest the 
spot afterwards should be considered as sacred by his fol- 
lowers, and the Christians on that account be dispossessed 
of the church. He then requested a place to be assigned 
where he might build a mosque, and the situation of the 
stone on which Jacob lay, when he saw the vision of the 



APPENDIX. 131 

angels, being pointed out, he instantly began to clear it 
from rubbish, zealously seconded by his officers in the pious 
work. A superstitions veneration was thus conferred upon 
the rock, and as Mohammed was supposed to have com- 
menced his miraculous ascent to heaven from the same 
spot, it was held in the highest reverence by all professors 
of the Mohammedan faith. An oratory was raised over 
it, which, enlarged and embellished by later Cailiphs, 
became eventually a sacred and splendid station of Moslem 
devotion. But how the identity of this stone, a portion of 
tiie living rock, was ascertained, or in what part of the 
original temple it was included, are Moslem legends, 
whieli, with our imperfect knowledge of their innumerable 
traditions, it would be hopeless to investigate. 

The successors of Omar speedily forgot his example of 
moderation and tolerance, and the oppressed Christians, 
in the time of Haroun el ftasehid, were compelled to 
solicit the friendly interposition of Charlemagne, for per- 
mission to retain the holy sepulchre. In the contention: of 
rival Cailiphs, which subsquently annexed Palestine to 
the government of Egypt, the Christians were again per- 
secuted, and their churches destroyed. 

In 1048, the merchants of Amalffi, trading to the Levant, 
were allowed by the Moslem sovereign of Egypt to erect a 



132 



APPENDIX 



hospital for pilgrims at Jerusalem. This inconsiderable foun- 
dation afterwards gave rise to the order of the Knights of 
St. John of Jerusalem, who, driven from the East, were final- 
ly established at Malta. The Turks, a barbarous Asiatic 
tribe, having embraced the prevailing Mohammedan faith, 
made a successful eruption into Syria, and captured Jerusa- 
lem in 1016. Fierce, extortionate and intolerant, their fla- 
grant outrages interrupted the course of religious pilgrim- 
age then greatly in vogue. 

Although the Holy City was again reovered by the Cai- 
liph of Egypt, the oppression of Christians was little abated 
when Peter the Hermit, who had witnessed the hardships 
imposed on Christian pilgrims, appealed in their behalf to 
the princes and prelates, and roused the indignation of all 
Europe. 

Moved by his pathetic representations, thousands, of all 
conditions, enrolling themselves under the banners of dis- 
tinguished leaders, impatienly rushed forward. Fired with 
impetuous zeal to rescue the Holy Sepulchre from the hands 
of the infidels, they made their way to Jerusalem (A. D. 
1099,) their tracks everywhere marked with desolation and 
bloodshed. 

On approaching the city their enthusiasm knew no bounds. 
They fell on their knees — they kissed the soil — invoked the 
aid of Heaven for the completion of their design, and forget- 



APPENDIX. 133 

taftg their suffering:, broke forth in psalms and pious chants. 
The siege was protracted to forty days. A procession of 
clergy and warriors encompassed the town ; excited by vis- 
ions and prophecies, they expected the wall to fall before 
them like those of Jericho. The town, defended by a garrison 
of forty thousand n ti mi, was taken by assault. No quarter 
was given to the infidels — -unsparing" massacre and plunder 
everywhere tracked the savage course of the conquerors. 
Many thousands who had taken refuge in the spacious halls 
of the Mosque of Omar, were sacrificed with pitiless fero- 
city ; even the terrified Jews were burnt in their syna- 
gogue, to which they had retired for safety. 

The soldiers of the cross, satiated with carnage, their 
hands reeking with blood, rushed to the Holy Sepulchre, 
prostrated themselves in adoration before him who had borne 
meekly the scoffs and buffets of his persecutors, who had 
inculcated forbearance and forgiveness, whose pure pre- 
cepts breathed peace and good will. 

Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine, mounted the throne of 
Jerusalem, but in less than a century the Latin Kingdom 
was subverted, and the Holy City surrendered in 1187 to 
the arms of Saladin. Terms of submission were at first 
refused ; the example of the Christians when they first 
gained possession being alleged, a determination to follow 
it declared. Yielding, however, to the solicitations of the 
12 



134 APPENDIX. 

Governor, a ransom was accepted from the inhabitants, who 
were aot only suffered to depart with their portable pro- 
perty; but were protected by an escort from robbery and 
insult 

The patriarch was permitted to take with him the rich dec- 
orations of the Holy Sepulchre, of which four priests were 
allowed t<> remain as guardians. Churches were now con- 
verted into mosques ; bells were removed and cresses 
thrown to the ground. The Sakhara, which had bees 
consecrated and adorned by the Christians, was devoutly 
purified by the sons of the Sultans with rose water, pur- 
posely brought from Damascus, while the holy stone in the 
centre which the late possessors had carefully incrusted 
with marble, in belief that it bore the impress of our 
Savior's foot, was again exposed tor the benefit of the faith- 
ful. 

Domestic discord among the Moslem rulers caused 
Jerusalem to he once more ceded to the Christians in 1229, 
during the extraordinary crusade of the Emperor Frederic 
the Second ; hut ruined, defenceless, and reparations pro- 
hibited, it was soon brought hack, again under Mahommedan 
sway. Seize. 1 shortly afterwards by the Karasmians, a 
preda'ory hoard from the Caspian, the sacred monument 
was once more destroyed. Annexed finally to the Egpytian 
government, Palestine was included in the extensive 



APPENDIX. 135 

conquest of Sultan Seleem, whose descendants have since 
held it in industrial vrassalage 

But how much longer this undisturbed vassalage may 
continue is a matter of extreme doubt, and judging from 

the Bigns of the ti s we may safely conclude it is rapidly 

drawing to a close. The united efforts of the missionaries, 
aud the recenl concentration at Jerusalem of representatives 
from all the great Christian Powers of Europe, are perhaps 
matters of much greater import than their immediate 
religious results. 

They are doubtless, directly or indirectly, connected with 
the restoration of the .Jewish Commonwealth iu Palestine, 
chiefly under the auspices of England, Prussia and Russia. 
It is not to he supposed that these governments instituted 
this measure with the sole, or even chief intent, to accom- 
plish this great prophetic event ; yet they look without 
doubt, to the state of the Jewish ami Christian mind which 
these prophecies have produced, with regard to the restora- 
tion, as a material, and perhaps an essential element in 
their success, 

That the measure is considered by the five ureal powers 
as haying an important political bearing, is evident from 
the fact that since the organization of the English diocese 
iu Palestine, France, Russia and Austria have sent their 
Consuls to Jerusalem, and have spent and are spending 



136 APPENDIX. 

immense treasures in erecting- convents and Consulate 
Palaces, where there is neither trade nor commerce to be 
encouraged or protected. At the present time the consular 
representations of the five great guardians of Europe and 
the East, are establishing themselves in the Holy City 
without any employment or object apparent to the public. 

May it not be quite probable that the present generation 
will see Jerusalem divide with Constantinople the discus- 
sions of the representatives for the settlement of the 
Eastern Question, the solution of which involves no less 
than the fall of Turkey, the extinction of Mahommedanism, 
and the triumph of Christianity. 

It is now a generally conceded fact that the Turkish 
Empire is rapidly approaching its downfall. And lying 
as it does, between Europe and the vast population and 
wealth beyond the Euphrates— the possession of its terri- 
tory by any of the five great powers would destroy politi- 
cally the balance of power in Europe, and draw after it the 
control of India— China, indeed, the whole of the Eastern 
world — the momentous question is, when the decayed 
fabric of the Moslem Empire shall fall to pieces — who 
shall possess its various ports. They must be occupied by 
new Christian states or divided and appropriated by the 
five great powers. 

Their disposition constitutes the great Eastern Question, 



APPENDIX. loT 

— perhaps the greatest political questions of modern times 
— and its solution is rapidly approaching and will quickly 
devolve upon the Christian Powers. 

They have long heen gathering at Constantinople; and 
have recently assembled at Jerusalem, as eagles gather 
where the carcass is. Each is augmenting its interest on 
the soil where the greal question is to be solved. 



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